Authors: Pushpaka B. Samarasingha and Mario Valvo
Title: Developing Li-ion conducting passivation layers on metallic lithium and their effect on electrochemistry
Affiliation: Uppsala University
Abstract
Li-ion battery (LIB) demand is unprecedented at present, mainly due to an exponential growth of consumer electronics and fast development of battery-powered vehicles. Currently, the general consensus is that conventional LIBs based on liquid electrolytes have reached a saturation point for fundamental and technical developments. Hence, increasing attention is paid to performance improvements. Yet, there is still room to increase the power and energy densities of LIBs by integrating metallic lithium (Li) as advanced negative electrode. Some early attempts to use metallic Li in LIBs occurred before their commercial introduction. Nevertheless, such efforts failed due to severe safety failures.
In this work, we try to develop Li-ion conducting passivation layers on metallic Li, which would be useful in addressing the safety issues posed by the highly reactive Li surface. In addition, these passivation layers could improve properties of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer as well.