Science Daily March 17, 2023
The role of grain boundaries in the nucleation and dendritic growth of metallic lithium is not yet fully understood. Researchers in Germany used operando Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements to map locally time-dependent electric potential changes in the Li6.25Al0.25La3Zr2O12 garnet-type solid electrolyte. They found that the Galvani potential dropped at grain boundaries near the lithium metal electrode during plating as a response to the preferential accumulation of electrons. Time-resolved electrostatic force microscopy measurements and quantitative analyses of lithium metal formed at the grain boundaries under electron beam irradiation supported this finding. Based on these results, they proposed a mechanistic model to explain the preferential growth of lithium dendrites at grain boundaries and their penetration in inorganic solid electrolytes. They hope that with a precise understanding of the growth processes, they will also be able to develop effective ways to prevent or at least limit growth at the negative pole, so that in the future the safer lithium solid-state batteries can also be used in broadband applications… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Proposed mechanism for Li dendrite nucleation and growth….Credit: Nature Communications volume 14, Article number: 1300 (2023)