In order to address lithium dendrite formation and low cycling efficiency issues, Pulse Plating (PP) and Reverse Pulse Plating (RPP) have been systematically investigated for lithium electrodeposition with a modified button cell device. Compared with Direct Current (DC) electrodeposition, PP waveforms with short and widely spaced pulses improve lithium deposition morphology and cycling efficiency under diffusion-controlled conditions. While RPP waveforms with high current density anodic pulses further improve lithium cycling efficiency, no obvious improvement in morphology was seen under the conditions tested. This study suggests that PP and RPP could be powerful tools for utilizing lithium metal anodes in high energy density rechargeable battery systems, especially when high instant power is required. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.