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SOLID-ELECTROLYTE BATTERIES

Soft and liquid metals

Nature Energy volume 6, pages 225–226 (2021)Cite this article

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Alkali metal electrodes paired with solid electrolyte separators show great promise in improving the energy density, safety and cost of batteries. Now, a deeper understanding of the effect of metal mechanical properties on a key failure mode creates opportunities for improved cycling performance.

A leading approach to simultaneously achieve lower cost, higher energy density and improved safety compared to current Li-ion batteries is the use of a metallic electrode and a solid electrolyte. Batteries with a metal electrode and a solid electrolyte have been previously commercialized for stationary storage (for example, the Na–S chemistry, in which the active materials are molten) and in a ‘thin film’ cell format for integration with circuit boards and other applications. However, to date, enabling stable cycling of a metal electrode at room temperature and with the technical metrics and cost required to make a compelling product for a consumer portable electronic or vehicle application remains elusive1. In particular, the high reactivity of lithium and sodium metals, and their tendency to fracture and penetrate solid electrolyte separators, have limited performance improvements.

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Fig. 1: Three cell formats explored in the work of Chiang and team.

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  1. Maryland Energy Innovation Institute, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Paul Albertus

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  1. Paul Albertus
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Correspondence to Paul Albertus.

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Albertus, P. Soft and liquid metals. Nat Energy 6, 225–226 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00800-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00800-1

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