Effects of Optimized Electrode Surface Roughness and Solid Electrolyte Interphase on Lithium Dendrite Growth

Abstract

Lithium metal is an ideal anode material for high‐energy‐density rechargeable batteries. However, harmful dendrites lead to short circuit and cause safety hazards. Herein, a fundamental study on increasing the roughness of the electrode and its influence on the behaviors of lithium dendrites by combining experiment and simulation is presented. Various aspects of the growth behaviors of lithium dendrite on the electrode surface are investigated with consideration of the overpotential, roughness, and the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). In situ observation of experimental results show that the electrode surface becomes rough gradually during the charging process, and the rough electrode surface promotes the formation of disordered dendrites. The simulation results also show that it is easy to form dendrites on the surface of electrodes with higher roughness. Higher overpotential leads to uneven deposition of reduced lithium and promotes the formation of lithium dendrites. A thicker SEI and lower conductivity can effectively slow down the growth of dendrites. Herein, the overpotential, protuberance, and SEI are preliminarily designed to suppress the growth of dendrites effectively. These results supply useful information for the optimal design of electrode surface patterns and an artificial SEI.

Study on the electrodeposition of uranium in chloride molten salt

“…4(c) and (d)), this phenomenon was attributed to the different electrode surface roughness and solid electrolyte interface exhibited by graphite and platinum, which will affect the growth of dendrites. 28 The particles size of both types of cathode depositions was in the micrometre range.…”

Addressing Mass Conservation in Two-dimensional Modeling of Lithium Metal Batteries with Electrochemically Plated/Stripped Interfaces

“…2. This protrusion follows a Gaussian curve and is expressed as: Note that, in general, this type of schematic has been widely used 24,44,[50][51][52][53][54][55] and studied for chemo-mechanics models, displacement models, and dendrite studies, but the movement of the interface with cycling should be better studied, particularly for mass and charge conservation. Further, the motion of the lithium surface, which is modeled as a moving boundary, will induce velocities in the liquid electrolyte owing to the no-slip condition at the electrode/electrolyte interface.…”

Understanding Charge-Transfer and Mass-Transfer Effects on Dendrite Growth and Fast Charging of Li Metal Battery

“…The SEI formed on the Li metal surface by some complex reactions, which has a certain ion conductivity, also plays a crucial role in the mass-transfer process of Li-ions and the kinetics of the Li deposition process. [36][37][38] Shi et al 39 found that the Li-ion diffusion through the SEI layer is the rate-determining step. Nevertheless, the native SEI has low conductivity, inhomogeneity, poor mechanical and electrochemical stability which can be damaged easily.…”