Micro-Patterned Lithium Metal Anodes with Suppressed Dendrite Formation for Post Lithium-Ion Batteries

• Published in: Advanced materials interfaces Vol. 3; no. 11; pp. np - n/a
• Main Authors: Park, Joonam, Jeong, Jiseon, Lee, Yunju, Oh, Min, Ryou, Myung-Hyun, Lee, Yong Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2016; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Anodes; COMSOL Multiphysics; Dendritic structure; Deposition; Lithium; lithium dendrite; lithium metal secondary batteries; Lithium-ion batteries; Mathematical analysis; Plating; Stamping; Stripping; surface patterns
• ISSN: 2196-7350; 2196-7350
• DOI: 10.1002/admi.201600140

Repressing uncontrolled lithium (Li) dendrite growth is the top priority for enabling the reliable use of Li metal secondary batteries. On the other hand, the technique controlling the metal plating behavior during metal plating indeed has been considered very difficult to achieve. For instance, how can one plate metal ions on the favored selected region during plating? The present study describes how to achieve this goal, i.e., dendrite‐free Li deposition, by mechanical surface modification using a simple stamping technique, where finite‐element method simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics was used to design the micro‐patterns of the stamp. After stamping, the transferred micro‐patterns on Li metal anodes suppress dendrite growth during repeated Li deposition/stripping processes and exhibit improved long‐term cycling stability of Li metal anodes. During the repeated Li plating processes, the pattern holes are filled by the liquid‐like and/or granular forms of Li metal without resulting Li dendrite growth. These holes are then reversibly drained during the Li stripping process, reverting to their original dimension. This study investigated the correlation of this unique Li plating/stripping behavior as a function of the current density. In a collaboration between COMSOL simulation based on a finite element method and post‐mortem analysis, this study visualizes and predicts the Li stripping/deposition behavior of the surface modified Li metal during cycling. Surface‐patterned Li metal having an optimized pattern dimension improves cycle retention abilities and power capabilities, as suppressing Li dendrite growth formation, to those of the bare Li metal.