Constructing Multifunctional Interphase between Li1.4Al0.4Ti1.6(PO4)3 and Li Metal by Magnetron Sputtering for Highly Stable Solid‐State Lithium Metal Batteries

Abstract

Due to high ionic conductivity and low cost, Li 1.4 Al 0.4 Ti 1.6(PO 4)3 (LATP) has emerged as a promising solid‐state electrolyte for next‐generation lithium (Li) metal solid‐state batterie with high safety performance and energy density. However, the extremely high impedance and surface instability of LATP with Li metal retard its practical application. Herein, a novel method is proposed to construct an ultrathin ZnO layer that is tightly coated on the LATP pellets, surface (ZnO@LATP) via magnetron sputtering, which in situ reacts with Li to form a low electronic conductivity and multifunctional solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). The formed SEI can not only effectively lower the interfacial resistance, but also overcome the side reactions of LATP with the Li metal anode and suppress the Li dendrite growth. Specifically, the interface resistance decreases from 80 554 to 353 Ω and the overpotential reduces from 1 V to 20 mV. As a result, the Li/ZnO@LATP@ZnO/Li symmetric batteries can stably cycle for more than 2000 h without short circuit at 0.05 mA cm−2 and Li/ZnO@LATP/LiFePO 4 batteries show excellent cycle stability for 200 cycles at 0.1 C. This work highlights the significance of multifunctional interphase between LATP and Li metal for improvement of interfacial impedance and instability.