title: CTAB-Influenced Electrochemical Dissolution of Silver Dendrites.
abstract: Dendrite formation on the electrodes of a rechargeable battery during the charge-discharge cycle limits its capacity and application due to short-circuits and potential ignition. However, understanding of the underlying dendrite growth and dissolution mechanisms is limited. Here, the electrochemical growth and dissolution of silver dendrites on platinum electrodes immersed in an aqueous silver nitrate (AgNO3) electrolyte solution was investigated using in situ liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The dissolution of Ag dendrites in an AgNO3 solution with added cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant was compared to the dissolution of Ag dendrites in a pure aqueous AgNO3 solution. Significantly, when CTAB was added, dendrite dissolution proceeded in a step-by-step manner, resulting in nanoparticle formation and transient microgrowth stages due to Ostwald ripening. This resulted in complete dissolution of dendrites and "cleaning" of the cell of any silver metal. This is critical for practical battery applications because "dead" lithium is known to cause short circuits and high-discharge rates. In contrast to this, in a pure aqueous AgNO3 solution, without surfactant, dendrites dissolved incompletely back into solution, leaving behind minute traces of disconnected silver particles. Finally, a mechanism for the CTAB-influenced dissolution of silver dendrites was proposed based on electrical field dependent binding energy of CTA(+) to silver.
authors.affiliation: Centre for BioImaging Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore , 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117551.|Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.
authors.forename: Colm
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: O'Regan
authors.affiliation: Division of Materials Science, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Centre for BioImaging Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore , 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117551.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Centre for BioImaging Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore , 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117551.|Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.|NanoCore, National University of Singapore , 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576.
authors.forename: Utkarsh
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.affiliation: Centre for BioImaging Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore , 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117551.|Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.|NanoCore, National University of Singapore , 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576.
authors.forename: Jingyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Division of Materials Science, Nanyang Technological University , 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.
authors.forename: Haibin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Centre for BioImaging Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore , 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543.|Department of Physics, National University of Singapore , 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117551.|Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore , 6 Science Drive 2, Singapore 117546.|NanoCore, National University of Singapore , 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117576.
authors.forename: Utkur
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mirsaidov