Lithium Plating Mechanism, Detection, and Mitigation in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

The success of electric vehicles depends largely on energy storage systems. Lithium-ion batteries have many important properties to meet a wide range of requirements, especially for the development of electric mobility. However, there are still many issues facing lithium-ion batteries. One of the issues is the deposition of metallic lithium on the anode graphite surface under fast charging or low-temperature conditions. Lithium plating reduces the battery life drastically and limits the fast-charging capability. In severe cases, lithium plating forms lithium dendrite, which penetrates the separator and causes internal short. Significant research efforts have been made over the last two decades to understand the lithium plating mechanisms. However, the lithium plating mechanisms have not yet been fully elucidated. Meanwhile, another challenge in the development of fast charging technologies is to identify degradation mechanisms in real-time. This includes real-time detection of lithium plating while the battery is being charged. Accurate detection and prediction of lithium plating are critical for fast charging technologies. Many approaches have been proposed to mitigate lithium plating, such as adopting advanced material components and introducing hybrid and optimized charging protocols. Nevertheless, most detection techniques and mitigation strategies are only used for fundamental research with limited possibilities in large-scale applications. To date, there is still a lack of a comprehensive review of lithium plating, reflecting state of the art and elucidating potential future research directions. Therefore, in this article, we provide a snapshot of recent advances in lithium plating research in terms of mechanism, detection, and mitigation to fill this gap and incentivize more innovative thoughts and techniques. In the present study, the mechanisms of lithium plating and approaches used to characterize and detect it in different applications are carefully reviewed. This review also provides a summary of recent advances in model-based approaches to predict lithium plating. Based on the gathered information, the advantages and drawbacks of each model are compared. The mitigation strategies for suppressing lithium plating at different levels are studied. Finally, we highlighted some of the remaining technical challenges and potential solutions for future advancement.