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LITHIUM-METAL BATTERIES

Finding the right balance

Nature Energy volume 6, pages 692–693 (2021)Cite this article

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Despite intensive research in the development of lithium-metal batteries, combining high energy density and long cycle life is still a great challenge. Now, a deeper understanding of the degradation mechanisms at play in realistic cells may pave the way for practical applications of these batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries that are ubiquitous today feature graphite-based anodes and have energy densities in the range of ~250 W h kg–1. By contrast, lithium-metal batteries, which employ metallic lithium as the anode, have regained great attention due to their potential to offer energy densities >350 W h kg–1, which could transform the consumer electronics and electric vehicles industries1,2. However, their commercialization is hindered by low Coulombic efficiency (CE) and low cycle life, which has been attributed to parasitic reactions of lithium with the electrolyte3.

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Fig. 1: The relationship between cell configuration, capacity fading and relative SEI structures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Nicolò Minafra & Yang Shao-Horn

  2. Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jeremiah A. Johnson

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Yang Shao-Horn

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Yang Shao-Horn

Authors
  1. Nicolò Minafra
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  2. Jeremiah A. Johnson
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  3. Yang Shao-Horn
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yang Shao-Horn.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Minafra, N., Johnson, J.A. & Shao-Horn, Y. Finding the right balance. Nat Energy 6, 692–693 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-021-00853-2

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