The development of next-generation solid electrolyte lithium metal batteries has been hindered by short-circuiting and failure issues.
However, a new paper by co-lead authors Geoff McConohy, Xin Xu, and Teng Cui sheds light on the cause and has solved this mystery. The paper shows through rigorous tests that 'mechanical stress and nanoscale defects' are the causes of the failure.
A video of 'lithium plating formation' on a solid electrolyte, released by the team, reveals the impact of the smallest induced stress.
With a clear understanding of the problem, researchers can now work on finding solutions for these next-generation batteries.