Uniform Lithium Deposition Assisted by Single-Atom Doping toward High-Performance Lithium Metal Anodes

For a long time lithium (Li) metal has been considered one of the most promising anodes for next-generation rechargeable batteries. Despite decades of concentrated research, its practical application is still hindered by dendritic Li deposition and infinite volume change of Li metal anodes. Here, atomically dispersed metals doped graphene is synthesized to regulate Li metal nucleation and guide Li metal deposition. The single-atom (SA) metals, supported on the nitrogen-doped graphene can not only increase the Li adsorption energy of the localized area around the metal atomic sites with a moderate adsorption energy gradient but also improve the atomic structural stability of the overall materials by constructing a coordination mode of M-N _x -C (M, N, and C denoted as metal, nitrogen, and carbon atoms, respectively). As a result, the as-obtained electrode exhibits an ultralow voltage hysteresis of 19 mV, a high average Coulombic efficiency of 98.45% over 250 cycles, and a stable Li plating/stripping performance even at a high current density of 4.0 mA cm ⁻² . This work demonstrates the application of SA metal doping in the rational design of Li metal anodes and provides a new concept for further development of Li metal batteries.