Faraday Institute clarifies why solid-state batteries fail

Scientists at the Faraday Institution have made important progress in understanding why solid-state batteries fail,media reported.

Researchers have provided an answer to a key piece of this scientific puzzle.

New “beyond lithium-ion” battery chemistry designs should gradually improve the range and safety of electric vehicle batteries, while providing cost-effectiveness. Solid-state batteries are a potential technology in this regard; however, their large-scale application is hampered by the failure of such batteries during charging and discharging due to several key technical challenges.

In addition, solid-state batteries can short-circuit after repeated charging and discharging. The common cause of battery failure is the growth of lithium dendrites. Finding a relevant solution may open a new era of solid-state battery-powered electric vehicles.

Scientists from the Department of Materials, Chemical and Engineering Sciences at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Diamond Light Source and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, present strong evidence in support of two competing One of their theories is that lithium metal dendrites grow through the ceramic electrolyte, causing the battery to short-circuit at high charge rates.

The team used X-ray computed tomography, an imaging method very similar to medical CAT scanners, combined with space-mapping X-ray diffraction, to visualize and characterize the processes that form dendrites and cracks inside operating solid-state batteries.

Initially, conical pit-like cracks formed in the electrolyte close to the lithium-plated anode. Cracks propagate along paths with a porosity greater than the average value of the ceramic.

Lithium metal is then deposited along the crack, which in turn widens the crack from the rear, allowing the crack to grow further. The crack front has expanded before lithium deposition, so lithium is absent from the crack tip. Only when lithium plating is formed all along the cracks will the cell eventually short circuit.

Scientists at the Faraday Institution have made important progress in understanding why solid-state batteries fail,media reported.

Researchers have provided an answer to a key piece of this scientific puzzle.

New “beyond lithium-ion” battery chemistry designs should gradually improve the range and safety of electric vehicle batteries, while providing cost-effectiveness. Solid-state batteries are a potential technology in this regard; however, their large-scale application is hampered by the failure of such batteries during charging and discharging due to several key technical challenges.

In addition, solid-state batteries can short-circuit after repeated charging and discharging. The common cause of battery failure is the growth of lithium dendrites. Finding a relevant solution may open a new era of solid-state battery-powered electric vehicles.

Scientists from the Department of Materials, Chemical and Engineering Sciences at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Diamond Light Source and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, present strong evidence in support of two competing One of their theories is that lithium metal dendrites grow through the ceramic electrolyte, causing the battery to short-circuit at high charge rates.

The team used X-ray computed tomography, an imaging method very similar to medical CAT scanners, combined with space-mapping X-ray diffraction, to visualize and characterize the processes that form dendrites and cracks inside operating solid-state batteries.

Initially, conical pit-like cracks formed in the electrolyte close to the lithium-plated anode. Cracks propagate along paths with a porosity greater than the average value of the ceramic.

Lithium metal is then deposited along the crack, which in turn widens the crack from the rear, allowing the crack to grow further. The crack front has expanded before lithium deposition, so lithium is absent from the crack tip. Only when lithium plating is formed all along the cracks will the cell eventually short circuit.

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Author: Yoyokuo