abstract |
Provided is a lithium metal secondary battery comprising a cathode, an anode, and a non-solid state electrolyte without a porous separator disposed between the cathode and the anode, wherein the anode comprises: (a) an anode active material layer containing a layer of lithium or lithium alloy, in a form of a foil, coating, or multiple particles aggregated together, as an anode active material; and (b) an anode-protecting layer in physical contact with the anode active material layer, having a thickness from 1 nm to 100 µm and comprising an elastomer having a fully recoverable tensile elastic strain from 2% to 1,000% and a lithium ion conductivity from 10 -8 S/cm to 5 x 10-2 S/cm when measure at room temperature; wherein the lithium metal secondary battery does not include a lithium-sulfur battery or a lithium- selenium battery. The disclosure also provides a method of improving the cycle-life of a lithium metal secondary battery containing a non-solid state electrolyte. |