Engineering the Lithiophilicity of a Cu Current Collector with L -Cysteine for a Stabilized Lithium Metal Anode

A Cu current collector decorated with L -cysteine (LC) molecules (Cu-LC) is fabricated via the robust coordination of thiol groups and copper. This molecular engineering approach reduces the lithium nucleation overpotential, suppressing the formation of lithium dendrites while promoting uniform lithium deposition. The exceptional lithiophilicity of Cu-LC endows the assembled Li∥Li@Cu-LC symmetric cell with a low overpotential of 8.6 mV and a stable operation for over 2000 h under a current density of 0.5 mA cm −2 and a low polarization voltage of 17.6 mV for 700 h at 2.0 mA cm −2 . Additionally, the Li@Cu-LC∥LFP full cell shows a high cycling stability at 1 C and delivers a specific capacity of 131.1 mAh g −1 after 100 cycles. This study highlights the interface regulation of thiol-based molecule anchored Cu current collectors in anode-less lithium-metal batteries.