Vacuum Evaporation Enabled Economical and Eco-Friendly Composite Copper Current Collectors

The composite copper current collector holds enormous potential for boosting the energy density and safety of lithium-ion batteries, yet manufacturing throughput and substrate cost remain key barriers to its widespread adoption. Here, we demonstrate a hybrid manufacturing technique combining designed vacuum evaporation and electroplating that achieves sub-second (0.38 s) metallization of economical polyethene terephthalate, dramatically improving throughput. The as-fabricated composite copper current collector demonstrates favourable attributes, including electrochemical stability and significant weight savings. For the composite copper current collector-graphite electrode, it would achieve an over 11% increase in whole electrode specific capacity, even compared to the 4.5 μm pure copper foil at 6.5 mAh cm −2 . This performance translates to the potential for extending electric vehicle range and saving 19.44 ~ 22.28 GWh in the production of lithium-ion batteries in 2025. Beyond performance, this work includes a life-cycle assessment, unveiling a reduced carbon footprint and substantial global copper conservation enabled by composite copper current collector, while also elucidating its intrinsic safety mechanism. These findings offer a potential pathway for fabricating sustainable and high-safety lithium-ion batteries.