ABSTRACT Prevailing Cu current collectors (CCs) are heavy‐weight and impermeable to electrolytes, greatly limiting the energy density and fast charge capability of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Meanwhile, the massive consumption of Cu raises concern on sustainability. Here, we report a metallized epichlorohydrin lignocellulose paper (MELCP) as lightweight and sustainable CCs for fast‐charge LIBs. This was achieved via epichlorohydrinizing a lignocellulose paper and subsequent electrodeless Cu plating. The MELCP exhibits an areal density of only 34 g/m 2 (Cu = 19.9 g/m 2 ), presenting 54.1% weight reduction and 73.1% Cu saving compared to conventional 8 µm Cu foil (74 g/m 2 ). Replacing 8 µm Cu with MELCP enables >19% improvement in energy density of graphite||NCM cells. When applied in multilayer pouch cells, the MELCP enables bidirectional lithium‐ion transport, greatly mitigating charge polarization. Under 2C charge and 100% depth‐of‐discharge, the MELCP‐based pouch cells retain 86.6% capacity after 200 cycles, far exceeding that of conventional Cu foil (63% capacity retention). Decent sustainability of MELCP was demonstrated with >95% of Cu recycled, and the residual substrate degrades naturally. This work reports a sustainable CCs for developing high‐energy and fast‐charging LIBs.
Lin et al. (Wed,) studied this question.