Localized lithium plating under mild cycling conditions in high-energy lithium-ion batteries

• Conditions such as the temperature and pressure experienced by lithium-ion battery components are dependent on cell geometry and can vary widely within a large cell. The resulting uneven degradation is challenging to study at the full cell level but can be revealed upon disassembly and post mortem analysis. In this work, we report localized lithium plating in automotive-grade, prismatic lithium-ion cells, also under cycling conditions generally considered to be mild (e.g., 5–65 %SOC, 23 °C, 0.5C cycle rate). Dead lithium content is quantified using 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in both electrode and separator samples, corresponding to substantial capacity fade (26–46%) of the full cells. Severe lithium plating is typically initiated in regions near the positive tab, in which both the separators and negative electrodes are ultimately deactivated. High pressure arises during cycling, and we propose a deactivation mechanism based on high local stress due to electrode expansion and external constraint. Further, we develop a model to demonstrate that component deactivation can result in lithium plating even under mild cycling conditions. Notably, components harvested from regions with no detected lithium plating maintained adequate electrochemical performance.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Naturresursteknik -- Energisystem (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Environmental Engineering -- Energy Systems (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Materialkemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Materials Chemistry (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Kemiteknik -- Annan kemiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Chemical Engineering -- Other Chemical Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Inhomogeneous degradation

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Post mortem analysis

Battery aging

Scanning electron microscopy

Separator

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