Ordered mesoporous carbon–confined ZnO nanoparticles as a stable host for dendrite-free lithium metal anode

Ordered mesoporous carbon–confined ZnO nanoparticles (OMC-ZnO) are prepared by a chelation-assisted co-assembly method. The SEM images indicate ZnO nanoparticles are embedded in the ordered mesoporous carbon. The lithiophilic ZnO served as nucleation sites that can homogenize lithium metal deposition. The ordered mesoporous carbon layers can increase the electronic conductivity and structural stability. As a result, the OMC-ZnO exhibits a significantly improved Coulombic efficiency of 98.5% over 400 cycles at 1 mA cm⁻². The OMC-ZnO/Li electrode obtained by electrodeposition delivers an outstanding cycling performance of over 1000 h and an ultralow voltage hysteresis of 14 mV in a symmetrical cell at 1 mA cm⁻² for 1 mAh cm⁻². Furthermore, the full cell paired with a LiFePO₄ cathode shows a steady Coulombic efficiency and high capacity up to 116.6 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 C after 700 cycles. This work can provide an innovative strategy to fabricate advanced hosts and solve the problem of Li metal batteries.