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Interface potentials inside solid-state batteries: Origins and implications

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Abstract

Interface resistance has become a significant bottleneck for solid-state batteries (SSBs). Most studies of interface resistance have focused on extrinsic mechanisms such as interface reactions and imperfect contact between electrodes and solid electrolytes. Interface potentials are an important intrinsic mechanism that is often ignored. Here, we highlight Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) as a tool to image the local potential at interfaces inside SSBs, examining the existing literature and discussing challenges in interpretation. Drawing analogies with electron transport in metal/semiconductor interfaces, we showcase a formalism that predicts intrinsic ionic resistance based on the properties of the contacting phases, and we emphasize that future battery designs should start from material pairs with low intrinsic resistance. We conclude by outlining future directions in the study of interface potentials through both theory and experiment.

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Acknowledgments

Y.Q. is thankful for helpful discussions with J. Janek.

Funding

Y.Q. acknowledges the support from the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-2054441. E.J.F. and A.A.T. were supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Grant No. DE-SC0021070. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract No. DE-NA-0003525.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, USA

    Yue Qi

  2. Center for Computational Materials Science, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, USA

    Michael W. Swift

  3. Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, USA

    Elliot J. Fuller & A. Alec Talin

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  1. Yue Qi
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  2. Michael W. Swift
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  3. Elliot J. Fuller
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  4. A. Alec Talin
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All authors discussed the focus of this perspective. Y.Q. developed the first draft. All authors revised the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yue Qi.

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Qi, Y., Swift, M.W., Fuller, E.J. et al. Interface potentials inside solid-state batteries: Origins and implications. MRS Bulletin 48, 1239–1246 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43577-023-00625-1

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