Ruocun Wang1,2,Raymond Unocic3,Jaehoon Choi4,Yan Burets1,2,Mark Anayee1,2,Geetha Valurouthu1,2,Wan-Yu Tsai3,Yury Gogotsi1,2
A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute1,Drexel University2,Oak Ridge National Laboratory3,University of Picardie Jules Verne4
Ruocun Wang1,2,Raymond Unocic3,Jaehoon Choi4,Yan Burets1,2,Mark Anayee1,2,Geetha Valurouthu1,2,Wan-Yu Tsai3,Yury Gogotsi1,2
A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute1,Drexel University2,Oak Ridge National Laboratory3,University of Picardie Jules Verne4
Lithium metal is widely investigated as a high-energy-density anode replacement for graphite in lithium-ion batteries. It is important for next-generation lithium-metal-based battery technologies. However, lithium dendrites tend to grow during deposition and stripping, resulting in poor battery life or short circuits. Literature shows that using MXene instead of copper as the current collector can mitigate lithium dendrite growth. Two mainstream hypotheses for dendrite suppression include forming a hexagonal close-packed structured lithium layer and a homogeneous growth of solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the surface of MXene. However, there is a lack of experimental evidence to support those hypotheses. Here we used a suite of characterization techniques, including cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), <i>in situ </i>Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and <i>operando</i> optical microscopy to investigate the crystal structure, SEI, and morphology of lithium nucleated on Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>T<i><sub>x</sub> </i>MXene at different rates and capacity.