Fabrication of Hybrid Silicate Coatings by a Simple Vapor Deposition Method for Lithium Metal Anodes

Abstract Lithium metal anodes are highly promising for next‐generation rechargeable batteries. However, implication of lithium metal anodes is hampered by the unstable electrochemical behavior. Herein, the fabrication of hermetic coatings of hybrid silicate on lithium metal surface using a simple vapor deposition technique under the ambient condition is reported. Such coatings consist of a “hard” inorganic moiety that helps to suppress lithium dendrites and a “soft” organic moiety that enhances the toughness. Lithium metal batteries, including Li–LiFePO 4 and Li–S batteries, made with such coated anodes show significantly improved lifetime. This work provides a simple yet effective approach to stabilize lithium metal anodes for high‐performance lithium metal batteries.