Li-ion Batteries
The potential safety hazards of lithium ion batteries (LIBs), as well as their capacity fade and long charging time, are major challenges that currently prevent the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. These effects are strongly correlated with lithium plating, a parasitic reaction on graphite anodes that competes with lithium intercalation when LiBs are charged at high rates or under low temperature. Li plating is known for depletion of the lithium inventory, cell shorting, and thermal runaway.
Addressing Li plating problem relies on material engineering and battery operation optimization. The efficacy of these approaches lies in the fundamental understanding of Li plating mechanism. Despite Li ion battery has been invented for 30 years, a systematic understanding on the onset and growth of Li in graphite anode is still lacking.
In this work, we elucidate the mechanism of Li plating, by investigating the interplay between Li intercalation and Li plating. The discovery sheds light on directions and guidelines of materials innovation or electrode design for reducing the risk of Li plating and extreme fast charging.