A review of solid-state lithium metal batteries through in-situ solidification

This review is led by Prof. Qiang Zhang and Prof. Chen-Zi Zhao (Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University). The review was indicated forthcoming opportunities to promote the practical applications of in-situ solidification in rechargeable lithium metal batteries.

At present, the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries has been approaching the limit. Liquid lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are favored for their high-energy-density (>500 Wh kg⁻¹), but commercialization is hampered by the flammability and explosiveness of the liquid solvent and the growth of Li dendrites. Notably, solid-state LMBs, the core of which revolves around the solid-state electrolyte (SSE) can play a high-energy-density, wide operating temperature, long cycling lifetime and high-safety and other advantages, therefore, the employ of solid-state electrolyte instead of organic liquid electrolyte is a practical strategy to achieve high-performance, high-security LMBs.

“The largest challenge facing the adoption of SSE is the inherent poor solid-solid contacts in solid-state LMBs, which results in huge electrochemical polarization and inferior performance. Especially, when matched with high-areal-loading cathode, how to preserve the conformal interfaces becomes more prominent due to the larger number of pores between the electrode particles. ” Zhang says. To tackle the above issue, the emerging in-situ solidification can render the superior conformal contacts between the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, construct the fast ion transport pathway between the electrode/electrolyte and the electrode particle/particle, reduce the interfacial impedance, and improve the electrochemical performance. Markedly, solid-state LMBs based on the emerging in-situ solidification technology have great development potential.

This review addresses the safety of high-energy-density LMBs as an entry point, expounds the importance of in-situ solidification in improving safety and adaptability as well as the history of the development of in-situ solidification, and emphatically introduces the synthesis techniques of in-situ solidified polymer electrolyte. The practical application of in-situ solidification technology is promoted from the aspects of artificial interphase construction and polymer electrolyte design, respectively, which clarify and establish the importance of in-situ solidification technology in the development of high-performance and high-safety LMBs. Eventually, the design, challenges and application prospects of in-situ solidified polymer electrolyte are presented to promote the development of existing energy technologies.

See the article:

A review of solid-state lithium metal batteries through in-situ solidification. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1866-y.