ZnS Nanoseeds Sealed in N, P, S Co-Doped Carbon Hollow Rhombic Dodecahedra as a Superlithiophilic Host for Dendrite-Free Lithium Metal Anodes.

Lithium (Li) metal is considered a hopeful anode for next-generation Li-ion batteries thanks to its ultra-high theoretical specific capacity, extra-low theoretical density, and low negative potential. However, the uncontrolled growth of Li dendrites and volume fluctuation during plating/stripping processes severely hamper its commercial application. Herein, ZnS seeds sealed in N, P, S co-doped carbon hollow rhombic dodecahedra (ZnS@NPS-C HRD) is fabricated as a superlithiophilic host for Li metal anodes (LMAs) to solve the above problems. In addition, the Li nucleation and deposition mechanism on ZnS@NPS-C HRD is investigated by in situ optical microscopy, ex-situ X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and theoretical calculations. Owing to the synergistic strategy of ZnS seeds-inducing nucleation and Li-limited growth, the as-prepared composite exhibits stability for 300 cycles in asymmetric cells and a long lifespan over 1100 h in symmetric cells. Moreover, the ZnS@NPS-C HRD@Li|LiFePO 4 full cell demonstrates a reversible capacity of 100.91 mAh g -1 after 400 cycles at 1 C.