Unraveling lithium metal plating behavior on cobalt-decorated 3D carbon textile for high-energy-density lithium metal batteries

Lithium metal anodes are promising for next-generation high-energy batteries, but their practical application is limited by safety issues arising from uncontrolled Li metal growth. To address these challenges, we report a scalable approach to fabricate flexible, free-standing 3D carbon textiles derived from low-cost cellulose textiles, uniformly decorated with cobalt particles (Co@c-Textile). The work function difference between cobalt particles and carbon induces a redistribution of surface charge, enabling the synergistic combination of cobalt and defective carbon to enhance lithiophilicity and promote uniform Li growth through accelerate surface diffusion. Detailed analyses further reveal that lithium preferentially plates not directly on the cobalt particles, but on the adjacent carbon regions, eventually encapsulating the cobalt and growing uniformly across the carbon surface. As a result, the Co@c-Textile@Li anode exhibits prolonged and stable cycling over 700 h in symmetric cells, along with improved Li+ transport kinetics. Furthermore, in full-cells with LiFePO4 (LFP) cathodes, it delivers over 90 % capacity retention at both 1C and 4C, and also demonstrates excellent stability under high-voltage conditions with Ni-rich cathodes. These findings clarify the role of transition metal/carbon composites in directing uniform Li plating and provide a viable strategy for designing advanced carbon-hosted Li metal anodes.