Carbon-Coated Liquid Metal Structure Enables Self-Healing and High-Rate Electrode for Flexible Lithium-Ion Battery

Free-standing and flexible electrodes have recently garnered significant attention in the development of multifunctional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, their slow kinetics and poor mechanical properties have hindered their practical application. In this study, a self-supporting C@GaInSn@CF electrode with a robust three-dimensional structure is developed by cleverly anchoring a liquid metal on a carbon skeleton. The liquid metal can effectively repair electrode cracks and maintain the electrical connectivity of the electrode, exhibiting good reversibility and a high storage capacity. At the same time, the carbon-coated structure prevents the liquid metal from shedding and establishes a stable solid electrolyte interphase during cycling. Therefore, the flexible electrode has a stable ion transport capability and good mechanical compliance. The cell with this electrode delivers an enhanced capacity of 267 mAh g⁻¹ at the rate of 2 A g⁻¹ and an outstanding life of 1000 cycles at the rate of 1 A g⁻¹. The successful construction of a liquid-metal-based flexible anode provides a novel insight into the free-standing electrode and a significant step toward realizing high-performance LIBs.