The development of new energy vehicles is a strategic initiative addressing oil security, air pollution, and industrial upgrading, and is pivotal for achieving Europe’s carbon neutrality goal by 2050. All-solid-state lithium metal batteries have significant advantages in energy density, safety, wide temperature range, and environmental adaptability. However, the interface between lithium metal and Li6.4La3Zr1.6Ta0.5O12 (LLZTO) still faces chanllenges, such as high impedance, side reactions, mechanical decay, lithium dendrites, and poor interfacial stability. Notably, the modification of this interface using self-healing polymers effectively alleviates the inevitable physical or chemical fatigue and interface damage, although it may introduce issues such as uneven Li+ nucleation and flammability.

To address these challenges, the overarching goal of the ambitious yet feasible project (PolyMat4Bat) is to develop rapid selfhealing, flame-retardant, and high-performance polymer films (CLSHPFs), which will be utilized between lithium metal and LLZTO. Specifically, this project will systematically investigate the self-healing mechanisms of CLSHPFs. The introduction of B-O bonds, Si-O bonds, and phosphorus-based structure is expected to enhance fire safety and chemical stability. Furthermore, electrochemical characterization, theoretical calculations, and in-situ/ex-situ characterization techniques (XPS, SEM, TEM, and Raman, etc) will be employed to elucidate the electrochemical reaction mechanisms, interface stability, dendrite growth inhibition, and Li+ deposition behavior. PolyMat4Bat is a typical multidisciplinary approach requiring complementary expertise from the host (flame-retardant molecular design, fire chemistry, polymer chemistry) and the researcher (electrodes design, battery assembly, and electrochemical characterization technologies), contributing to the achievement of the “Sustainable Development Goals” and “European Green Deal” of EU policies.