Site-specific self-protection of stacking faults enables durable Li–gas batteries

Rechargeable Li–gas batteries, represented by Li–O 2 and Li–CO 2 systems, are promising for high-energy-density storage and gas-involved energy conversion, yet their operation is constrained by the trade-off between catalytic activity and structural durability of cathodes. Metastable defects such as stacking faults offer active sites for accelerating sluggish gas redox reactions, but readily undergo electrochemical stress-induced slip and structural collapse during cycling. Inspired by plant traumatic resinosis, we propose a site-specific self-protection strategy that exploits the intrinsic anisotropy of stacking faults to decouple catalytic reaction planes from orthogonal protective functional planes. On the reaction plane, over-coordinated dislocation sites amplify surface electrostatic potential differences and promote Li 2 CO 3 decomposition via nucleophilic/electrophilic interactions. On the functional plane, selective interactions with sulfur-containing electrolyte components induce in situ reconstruction of a multiphase inorganic–organic amorphous interphase, anchoring stacking faults without blocking catalytic sites. As a Li–CO 2 proof of concept, stacking-fault-rich molybdenum boride (MoB) delivers 90.13% average energy efficiency over 2500 h and stable operation at 150 °C for nearly 500 h. This work establishes a self-protection paradigm for stable metastable active structures and provides a universal interface design principle for durable Li–gas batteries. This work proposes a site-specific self-protection strategy, inspired by traumatic resinosis in plants, to stabilize highly active but fragile defect structures in Li–gas batteries. By spatially decoupling the catalytic and protective planes of stacking faults, a localized amorphous interphase forms in situ to suppress structural degradation without sacrificing catalytic activity. This strategy enables simultaneous optimization of activity and durability and offers a transferable design principle for stabilizing metastable active structures. 本研究针对锂气体电池中高活性缺陷结构易失稳的问题, 提出受植物创伤树脂化启发的“位点特异性自保护”策略。通过将堆垛层错的反应平面与保护功能平面空间解耦, 在保持催化活性的同时原位构筑局域非晶保护界面, 从而抑制结构滑移与破坏。该工作实现了活性与稳定性的协同优化, 并为亚稳活性结构的界面保护提供了新的可迁移设计思路. Download: Download high-res image (162KB) Download: Download full-size image