Plating metal negative electrodes under protective coatings

摘要

A method for forming lithium electrodes having protective layers involves plating lithium between a lithium ion conductive protective layer and a current collector of an "electrode precursor." The electrode precursor is formed by depositing the protective layer on a very smooth surface of a current collector. The protective layer is a glass such as lithium phosphorus oxynitride and the current collector is a conductive sheet such as a copper sheet. During plating, lithium ions move through the protective layer and a lithium metal layer plates onto the surface of the current collector. The resulting structure is a protected lithium electrode. To facilitate uniform lithium plating, the electrode precursor may include a "wetting layer" which coats the current collector.