title: Dendrite-free lithium deposition via self-healing electrostatic shield mechanism.
abstract: Rechargeable lithium metal batteries are considered the "Holy Grail" of energy storage systems. Unfortunately, uncontrollable dendritic lithium growth inherent in these batteries (upon repeated charge/discharge cycling) has prevented their practical application over the past 40 years. We show a novel mechanism that can fundamentally alter dendrite formation. At low concentrations, selected cations (such as cesium or rubidium ions) exhibit an effective reduction potential below the standard reduction potential of lithium ions. During lithium deposition, these additive cations form a positively charged electrostatic shield around the initial growth tip of the protuberances without reduction and deposition of the additives. This forces further deposition of lithium to adjacent regions of the anode and eliminates dendrite formation in lithium metal batteries. This strategy may also prevent dendrite growth in lithium-ion batteries as well as other metal batteries and transform the surface uniformity of coatings deposited in many general electrodeposition processes.
authors: Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, USA.
authors: Fei
authors: F
authors: Ding
authors: Wu
authors: W
authors: Xu
authors: Gordon L
authors: GL
authors: Graff
authors: Jian
authors: J
authors: Zhang
authors: Maria L
authors: ML
authors: Sushko
authors: Xilin
authors: X
authors: Chen
authors: Yuyan
authors: Y
authors: Shao
authors: Mark H
authors: MH
authors: Engelhard
authors: Zimin
authors: Z
authors: Nie
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Xiao
authors: Xingjiang
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Peter V
authors: PV
authors: Sushko
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: Ji-Guang
authors: JG
authors: Zhang