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Published on: October 10, 2016
Solvation-derived amorphous motifs in lithium-metal SEI
Kangxuan Xia1, Sha Tan1, Enyuan Hu1
1Chemistry Division, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA. enhu@bnl.gov.
Faraday Discussions
|July 23, 2026
Summary
The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on lithium metal batteries has reproducible structures, not just disorder. SEI structure is influenced by electrolyte design and liquid-state organization, offering new insights for battery stability.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Battery Technology
Background:
- The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is crucial for lithium metal battery stability.
- Understanding the amorphous SEI structure is challenging due to its disordered nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural features of the amorphous SEI on lithium metal.
- To correlate SEI structure with electrolyte properties and design.
- To demonstrate an effective method for analyzing disordered battery interphases.
Main Methods:
- Formation of SEI on lithium metal using localized high-concentration and ether-based electrolytes.
- Utilized total scattering techniques.
- Applied pair distribution function (PDF) analysis.
Main Results:
- The amorphous SEI exhibits reproducible structural motifs, not featureless disorder.
- SEI structure retains a memory of the liquid electrolyte's solvation environment.
- Amorphous SEI structure systematically varies with solvent solvating strength.
Conclusions:
- Liquid electrolyte structure directly influences the passivation layer on lithium metal.
- Electrolyte design can be optimized by understanding its impact on SEI formation.
- Total scattering and PDF analysis are effective for probing disordered battery interphases.
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