Achieving high initial coulombic efficiencies and cycle stability of free-standing anodes by chemical prelithiation of carbon matrix.

Prelithiated free-standing membranes as anodes for lithium-ion batteries can demonstrate significantly improved initial coulombic efficiencies and capacity utilization. [Display omitted] • A strategy to rationally prelithiate GO matrix of free-standing anodes by inorganic lithium salts is developed. • The pre-inserted lithium-containing groups can increase the electronic conductivity and suppresses further Li consumption upon cycling. • The initial coulombic efficiencies and cycling performance of prelithiated free-standing anode were significantly enhanced. The influence of carbon matrix in freestanding electrodes for flexible lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) cannot be neglected because of the strong intercalation ability of Li+ which could result in low initial columbic efficiencies (ICEs). Based on electrostatic potential, inorganic lithium salts and graphene oxide (GO) with opposite zeta potential in ethanol is utilized as chemical prelithiation reagent, which enables a successful prelithiation of GO-based SnTiS 3 anodes. By molecular dynamic calculation and experimental evaluation, the prelithiated GO matrix with enlarged layer distance enables an improved ion conductivity and suppresses Li consumption. Consequently, prelithiated free-standing membranes as anodes for LIBs can demonstrate significantly improved ICEs and capacity utilization compared with their counterparts without prelithiation. This strategy can shed new light on prelithiated free-standing electrodes with high performance for flexible wearable energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]