The urgent demands for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries promote a flourishing development of Li metal anode. However, the uncontrollable dendrites growth and serious side reactions severely limit its commercial application. Herein, an artificial LiF-rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is constructed at molecular-level using one-step photopolymerization of hexafluorobutyl acrylate based solution, where the LiF is in situ generated during photopolymerization process (denoted as PHALF). The LiF-rich layer comprised flexible polymer matrix and inorganic LiF filler not only ensures intimate contact with Li anode and adapts volume fluctuations during cycling but also regulates Li deposition behavior, enabling it to suppress the dendrite growth and block side reactions between the electrolyte and Li metal. Accordingly, the PHALF-Li anode presents superior stable cycling performance over 500 h at 1 mA·cm^-2 for 1 mA·h·cm^-2 without dendrites growth in carbonate electrolyte. The work provides a novel approach to design and build in situ artificial SEI layer for high-safety and stable Li metal anodes.

The development of new non-precious metal catalysts and understanding the origin of their activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are essential for rationally designing highly active low-cost catalysts as alternatives to state-of-the-art precious metal catalysts. Herein, manganese oxide/hydroxide was demonstrated as a highly active electrocatalysts for the HER by fabricating MnO₂ nanosheets coated with Cu₂O nanowire arrays (Cu₂O@MnO₂ NW@NS) on Cu foam followed by an in situ chronopotentiometry (CP) treatment. It was discovered that the in situ transformation of Cu₂O@MnO₂ into Cu@Mn(OH)₂ NW@NS by the CP treatment drastically boosted the catalytic activity for the HER due to an enhancement of its intrinsic activity. Together with the benefits from such three-dimensional (3D) core–shell arrays for exposing more accessible active sites and efficient mass and electron transfers, the resulting Cu@Mn(OH)₂ NW@NS exhibited excellent HER activity and outstanding durability in terms of a low overpotential of 132 mV vs. RHE at 10 mA/cm². Overall, we expect these findings to generate new opportunities for the exploration of other Mn-based nanomaterials as efficient electrocatalysts and enable further understanding of their catalytic processes.