Symposium EN06—Solid-State Batteries—From Electro-Chemo Mechanics to Devices

Peter Bruce, University of Oxford

Factors Influencing the Critical Current in Lithium Anode Ceramic Electrolyte Solid-State Batteries

Written by Xinzi He

The critical current density (CCD) for solid-state batteries pairing with a lithium anode is always discussed in the scenario of dendrite penetration. Peter Bruce started the talk by pointing out that the void formation on the lithium stripping side can be another critical reason that makes the CCD smaller than the dendrite-penetration-controlled one. Moreover, using x-ray computed tomography, the location where dendritic cracks initiate and propagate were revealed. The cracks were found driven by Li at the back of the crack, not the tip. An important lesson found is lower stacking pressure can be more favorable to achieving higher CCD without crack propagation. In the end, together with the session chair Prof. Matt McDowell (Georgia Institute of Technology) and Prof. Xin Li (Harvard University), Prof. Bruce discussed how the cell structures design—with and without lateral restriction—may influence these crack phenomena.