Stable Lithium Deposition Using a Self-Optimizing Solid Electrolyte Composite. Issue 13 (27th September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Whiteley, Justin M.; Hafner, Simon; Zhu, Chengpu; Zhang, Wei; Lee, Se-Hee
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Electrochemical Society. Volume 164:Issue 13(2017)
• Page Start: A2962
• Page End: A2966
• Publication Date: 2017-09-27
• Subjects: lithium dendrite -- self-healing polymer -- solid electrolyte; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; 541.3705
• DOI: 10.1149/2.0331713jes
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4651

Abstract

Abstract : We report the ability of solid electrolyte in polymer membrane (SEPM) system to suppress lithium dendrites. The concept of impregnation of material in the pore space of a solid electrolyte is not an entirely new concept, although none of these studies effectively demonstrated blocking of lithium dendrite growth in a solid state configuration. In this study, we explored a new mechanism of lithium dendrite suppression by introducing a self-healing polymer with solid electrolyte to form a composite. The mechanism is correlated to self-healing ability through the use of temperature and current density. Galvanostatic and cycling tests reveal a system which demonstrates a 50X improvement in performance over a pure solid electrolyte separator. We conclude that this is not an effect of the introduction of any polymer into the solid electrolyte system, but is specific to the imine-based self-healing polymer. We postulate that the polymer acts to optimize an interface between lithium and the solid electrolyte as well as form an optimized matrix between solid electrolyte particles. With further optimization, this new system can be a viable option to produce thin solid membranes in a lithium metal configuration.