Lithiophilic metallic nitrides modified nickel foam by plasma for stable lithium metal anode

3D metallic frameworks for lithium metal anodes (LMA) have attracted wide interests due to large specific surface area and high stability. However, their poor lithiophilic surface still suffers non-uniform lithium nucleation and dendrite growth. The construction of oxide layers on the metallic surfaces have been widely reported to effectively improve the surface lithiophilicity. In comparison, metallic nitrides with both strong affinity to lithium and high conductivity have been seldom studied. Herein, a novel and simple strategy has been adopted to build a lithiophilic and compact nitride layer on the nickel foam by an eco-friendly plasma process. The nitride decorated nickel foams (PNNF) not only show higher specific surface area, but also uniform lithium deposition by the formation of lithiophilic and high ion conductive Li3N. In turn, the PNNF in a symmetric cell exhibited low voltage hysteresis 13, 18 and 39 mV at 1, 2 and 5 mA/cm2 respectively for over 400 cycles. In addition, the fabricated full-cell paired with LiFePO4 cathode displayed a high reversible capacity 167.1 mAh/g after 300 cycles and stable cycling performance, indicating a preeminent potential for practical application. Moreover, this work provides a new strategy for the use of metallic nitrides as lithiophilic layer for LMA.