Factors That Control the Formation of Dendrites and Other Morphologies on Lithium Metal Anodes

• Main Authors: Louise Frenck, Gurmukh K. Sethi, Jacqueline A. Maslyn, Nitash P. Balsara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2019-11-01
• Series: Frontiers in Energy Research
• Subjects: dendrite; lithium metal; electrolytes; limiting current; rechargeable batteries
• Online Access: https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fenrg.2019.00115/full

Lithium metal is a promising anode material for next-generation rechargeable batteries, but non-uniform electrodeposition of lithium is a significant barrier. These non-uniform deposits are often referred to as lithium “dendrites,” although their morphologies can vary. We have surveyed the literature on lithium electrodeposition through three classes of electrolytes: liquids, polymers and inorganic solids. We find that the non-uniform deposits can be grouped into six classes: whiskers, moss, dendrites, globules, trees, and cracks. These deposits were obtained in a variety of cell geometries using both unidirectional deposition and cell cycling. The main result of the study is a figure where the morphology of electrodeposited lithium is plotted as a function of two variables: shear modulus of the electrolyte and current density normalized by the limiting current density. We show that specific morphologies are confined to contiguous regions on this two-dimensional plot.