2025-04-11 シカゴ大学
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-researchers-work-improve-batteries-looking-textures
- https://www.cell.com/joule/abstract/S2542-4351(25)00028-5
電気化学プロセスにおけるソフトメタルの粒選択成長 Grain selection growth of soft metal in electrochemical processes
Minghao Zhang ∙ Karnpiwat Tantratian ∙ So-Yeon Ham ∙ … ∙ Amir Avishai ∙ Lei Chen ∙ Ying Shirley Meng
Joule Published:February 10, 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.101847
Graphical abstract
Context & scale
The use of alkali metal anode in all-solid-state batteries has been very challenging, particularly under low stack pressures. While tremendous efforts have been made to investigate the morphology of alkali metals, such as lithium plating and dendrites, the texture remains rarely explored. The term “texture” refers to the grain orientation that is oriented in a particular direction instead of random distribution. Plasma-focused ion beam-electron backscatter diffraction (PFIB-EBSD) enables the characterization of the metal texture under various electrochemical plating and stripping conditions. The experimental observations are complemented with phase-field modeling built from the thermodynamic theory. This study highlights the competition of surface energy and strain energy for texture formation of alkali metals. Understanding how the atomic diffusion and surface energy of alkali metals dominate grain selection growth during electrochemical processes can explain the kinetic constraints of solid-state batteries using metal anodes, particularly at room temperature. Leveraging this mechanistic understanding, desirable textures can be achieved through interface engineering to improve the plating/stripping efficiency at high current densities.
Highlights
- Characterize the soft metal texture under various conditions
- Develop a thermodynamic theory and phase-field model for texture formation
- Identify desirable textures for improving plating/stripping efficiency
- Design an interfacial layer for desirable grain growth
Summary
Soft metals like lithium and sodium play a critical role in battery technology owing to their high-energy density. Texture formation by grain selection growth of soft metals during electrochemical processes is a crucial factor affecting power and safety. Here, a general thermodynamic theory and phase-field model are formulated to study the grain selection growth of soft metals. Our study focuses on the interplay between surface energy and atomic mobility-related intrinsic strain energy in grain selection growth. Differences in grain selection growth arise from the anisotropy in surface energy and the diffusion barrier of soft metal atoms. Our findings highlight the kinetic limitations of solid-state Li metal batteries, which originate from load stress-induced surface energy anisotropy. These insights lead to the development of an amorphous LixSi1−x (0.50 < x < 0.79) seed layer, improving the critical current density at room temperature for anode-free Li solid-state batteries through the control of grain selection growth.
