Lillint II - Thermodynamic and kinetic stability of the Lithium-Liquid Electrolyte Interface

Basic data for this project

Description

Intensive efforts in both industrial and university/government laboratories have been conducted in the past decades to understand the interfacial chemistry leading to SEI growth and how to control it. Numerous attempts have been made to characterize the structure and chemical composition of the SEI film, involving a vast array of experimental techniques and theoretical approaches. The SEI layer chemistry is known to be highly complex and heterogeneous at sub-nanometer scale, and although many organic and inorganic compounds have been identified in the passive film, their distribution, relative concentration and exact function remain poorly understood. In fact, a correlated list of the chemical components of the SEI as the product of electrochemical and chemical side reactions can be still incomplete and their actual function in the SEI is unknown. The possible growth mechanism interpreted from a corrosion science perspective has been intensively discussed in a review in Nature Reviews Materials by the consortium. Understanding what chemical components perform the key structural and chemical roles in functional SEI layers is prerequisite to the ability of stabilizing Li-metal electrodes that operate outside of the window of stability of the electrolyte.