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Assessing LiF as coating material for Li metal electrodes

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Abstract

Li metal electrodes have the potential to increase the energy density of conventional lithium-ion batteries by up to 60%. However, challenges regarding the cycling efficiency and safety of these electrodes still remain. Effective surface treatments seem to be a promising approach for resolving issues such as dendrite formation or excessive reaction with the electrolyte. LiF has been reported to exhibit most of the properties required of a coating material in this context, offering high electro-/chemical stability, mechanical strength, high surface energies, etc. Nevertheless, contradicting reports on the effectiveness of LiF coatings to improve the cycling efficiency of Li metal electrodes raise doubts on its effectiveness to protect the Li metal surface. The mechanism of protection for this material is also not well understood. Thus, a comparative study was conducted, selecting three different approaches for the synthesis of a LiF coating on Li metal and following with detailed electrochemical analysis. Using the same experimental setup for all samples enabled direct comparison between the selected coatings, and subsequently, a reliable evaluation on the effectiveness of LiF as protective coating.

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Acknowledgements

This activity has received funding from the Mobility of the Future program within the project LIANO (Grant Agreement No. 873376). Mobility of the Future is a research, technology, and innovation funding program of the Republic of Austria, Ministry for Climate Action. The Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) has been authorized for the program management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemical Technology and Analytics, Technische Universität Wien, Getreidemarkt 9/164EC, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Michael Georg Stadt & Günter Fafilek

  2. AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH, Center for Low-Emission Transport, Electric Vehicle Technologies, Giefinggasse 2, 1210, Vienna, Austria

    Raad Hamid, Ningxin Zhang, Arlavinda Rezqita & Alexander Beutl

  3. Analytical Instrumentation Center, Technische Universität Wien, Lehargasse 6, Objekt 10, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Markus Sauer & Annette Foelske

  4. Department of Inorganic Chemistry - Functional Materials, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Vienna, Währingerstr. 42, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Rémy Guillet-Nicolas

  5. Laboratoire Catalyse et Spectrochimie (LCS), Normandie Université, ENSICAEN, UNICAEN, CNRS, 14050, Caen, France

    Rémy Guillet-Nicolas

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  1. Michael Georg Stadt
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Contributions

Conceptualization: AB; methodology: AB; general experimental investigation and electrochemical analysis: MGS and AB; characterization XPS: MS and AF; characterization XRD: RH; characterization SEM: NZ; writing—original draft preparation: AB; writing—review and editing: GF and RGN; funding acquisition: AR and RGN; supervision: GF and AB.

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Correspondence to Alexander Beutl.

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The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to declare. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

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Stadt, M.G., Hamid, R., Zhang, N. et al. Assessing LiF as coating material for Li metal electrodes. J Appl Electrochem 52, 339–355 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-021-01620-7

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