title: The synergetic effect of lithium polysulfide and lithium nitrate to prevent lithium dendrite growth.
abstract: Lithium metal has shown great promise as an anode material for high-energy storage systems, owing to its high theoretical specific capacity and low negative electrochemical potential. Unfortunately, uncontrolled dendritic and mossy lithium growth, as well as electrolyte decomposition inherent in lithium metal-based batteries, cause safety issues and low Coulombic efficiency. Here we demonstrate that the growth of lithium dendrites can be suppressed by exploiting the reaction between lithium and lithium polysulfide, which has long been considered as a critical flaw in lithium-sulfur batteries. We show that a stable and uniform solid electrolyte interphase layer is formed due to a synergetic effect of both lithium polysulfide and lithium nitrate as additives in ether-based electrolyte, preventing dendrite growth and minimizing electrolyte decomposition. Our findings allow for re-evaluation of the reactions regarding lithium polysulfide, lithium nitrate and lithium metal, and provide insights into solving the problems associated with lithium metal anodes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Weiyang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Hongbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Guangyuan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Yet-Ming
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA [2] Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui