Issue 32, 2021

Preventing lithium plating under extremes: an untold tale of two electrodes

Abstract

Fast charging of lithium-ion cells is key to alleviate range anxiety and improve the commercial viability of electric vehicles, which is, however, limited by the propensity of lithium plating. The plated lithium can grow dendritically and may cause internal short and increase the risk of thermal runaway. In this study, a novel anode potential control strategy using a battery management system (BMS) has been demonstrated to enable fast charging in commercial pouch cells without lithium plating. Operando anode potential measurement using a 3-electrode configuration allows monitoring the occurrence of lithium plating. A novel 3-electrode cell analytics was developed to delineate the irreversible and irretrievable contributions to the total capacity loss and identify electrode-specific degradation mechanisms. The BMS algorithm dictates the charging current to maintain a positive anode potential and prevents lithium plating on the anode but fails to sufficiently control the cathode operating potential leading to irretrievable capacity loss. Operating the cell in conditions favorable to the anode may contrarily lead to cathode degradation and subsequent cell failure. Morphological and electrochemical characterizations reveal minimal anode degradation and a 2× higher cathode-capacity loss in the BMS-controlled cells. The baseline cell, not enabled with the BMS anode potential control strategy, exhibits extensive lithium deposition in the anode resulting in 7× higher anode-capacity loss. This study discovers the role of cathode-induced cell failure even when the anode-centric lithium plating is prevented and suggests pathways toward future BMS algorithm development enabling Li-ion cell operation under extremes.

Graphical abstract: Preventing lithium plating under extremes: an untold tale of two electrodes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
22 جوٗن 2021
Accepted
04 اگست 2021
First published
04 اگست 2021

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2021,9, 17249-17260

Preventing lithium plating under extremes: an untold tale of two electrodes

A. Bohinsky, S. P. Rangarajan, Y. Barsukov and P. Mukherjee, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2021, 9, 17249 DOI: 10.1039/D1TA05290J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements