Effect of microstructure on the cycling behavior of li-in alloy anodes for solid-state batteries

Journal article

Indium-lithium alloys operating in the two-phase region of indium metal and the InLi intermetallic are the counter and reference electrodes of choice in two-electrode solid-state batteries. At high current densities on both charge and discharge, they offer low polarization, good accessible capacity, and good cycle life. By synthesizing a phase pure InLi intermetallic and measuring its diffusion and mechanical properties, it is clear that the electrochemical performance is attributable to measured fast diffusion kinetics in the InLi intermetallic, DLi298K = 5.5 × 10-7 cm2 s-1. The indium metal phase is essentially ion-blocking, so the performance is tied to the microstructure, which evolves with cycling. A simple two-layer microstructure is proposed, based on the fundamental understanding established, which maximizes performance. Despite the limitations of indium-based alloys in commercial applications, the lessons learned can be extended to other fast-conducting lithium intermetallics.

Authors: Aspinall, J; Chart, Y; Guo, H; Shrestha, P; Burton, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Journal: ACS Energy Letters
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 578-585
• Publication date: 2024-01-26
• Acceptance date: 2024-01-19
• DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.3c02274
• EISSN: 2380-8195
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR