On high-temperature evolution of passivation layer in Li-10 wt % Mg alloy via in situ SEM-EBSD

Shirin Kaboli; Pierre Noel; Daniel Clément; Hendrix Demers; Andrea Paolella; Patrick Bouchard; Michel L Trudeau; John B Goodenough; Karim Zaghib

doi:10.1126/sciadv.abd5708

On high-temperature evolution of passivation layer in Li-10 wt % Mg alloy via in situ SEM-EBSD

Sci Adv. 2020 Dec 9;6(50):eabd5708. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd5708. Print 2020 Dec.

Authors

Shirin Kaboli¹, Pierre Noel¹, Daniel Clément¹, Hendrix Demers¹, Andrea Paolella¹, Patrick Bouchard², Michel L Trudeau¹, John B Goodenough³, Karim Zaghib⁴

Affiliations

¹ Hydro-Québec's Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage, Varennes, QC J3X 1S1, Canada.
² Hydro-Québec's Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage, Shawinigan, QC G9N 7N5, Canada.
³ Texas Materials Institute and Materials Science and Engineering Program, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
⁴ Department of Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, Canada. karim.zaghib@mcgill.ca.

Abstract

Li-10 wt % Mg alloy (Li-10 Mg) is used as an anode material for a solid-state battery with excellent electrochemical performance and no evidence of dendrite formation during cycling. Thermal treatment of Li metal during manufacturing improves the interfacial contact between a Li metal electrode and solid electrolyte to achieve an all solid-state battery with increased performance. To understand the properties of the alloy passivation layer, this paper presents the first direct observation of its evolution at elevated temperatures (up to 325°C) by in situ scanning electron microscopy. We found that the morphology of the surface passivation layer was unchanged above the alloy melting point, while the bulk of the material below the surface was melted at the expected melting point, as confirmed by in situ electron backscatter diffraction. In situ heat treatment of Li-based materials could be a key method to improve battery performance.

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