Lithiophilic NiB embedded hollow carbon nanorods as multifunctional interlayer for dendrite-free and stable lithium metal batteries

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) offer great promise for next-generation high-energy density storage devices, yet their practical applications seriously hindered by dendritic lithium growth and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). To address these challenges, herein, we present a novel lithiophilic nickel boride embedded hollow carbon nanorods (NiB@HCR) as multifunctional interlayer for LMBs. The uniform distribution of lithiophilic NiB@HCR creates plentiful chemisorption sites, enabling efficient Li + flux regulation and uniform deposition. It also facilitates the in-situ formation of stable LiF-rich SEI layer, which effectively suppressing dendrite growth. The lithiophilic feature and strengthened physical barrier can also enhance the electrolyte wettability and mechanical/thermal stability. Benefiting from these merits, the cells with NiB@HCR interlayers deliver outstanding electrochemical performances: the Li//Li cell delivers outstanding stability at 1 mA cm −2 with 1 mAh cm −2 over 1000 h; the Li//LiFePO 4 cell with a 11 mg cm −2 delivers a high reversible capacity of 111.7 mAh g −1 at 1C over 200 cycles. This work contributes to providing new insight into the deliberate design, facile fabrication, and performance enhancement mechanisms of lithiophilic boride-based multifunctional interlayer for dendrite-free and stable LMBs.