Macroscopically uniform and flat lithium thin film formed by electrodeposition using multicomponent additives

Abstract

It is well-known that the electrodeposition of lithium usually results in the formation of dendrites on the electrode surface. This limits the utilization of metallic lithium as a material for, for example, the negative electrodes of rechargeable batteries. In aqueous solutions, similar dendritic growth of metals is often observed during electrodeposition; however, utilization of multicomponent additives has overcome this shortcoming. Here, we report that the simultaneous utilization of four different additives greatly suppresses the formation of lithium dendrites during electrodeposition in a tetraglyme-based solution. The roles of the additives are discussed, based on the results of electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.