Photochemically driven solid electrolyte interphase for extremely fast-charging lithium-ion batteries

Abstract

Extremely fast charging such as charging 80% of capacity within 15 min is a pressing requirement for current lithium-ion battery technology. Here the authors achieve this by incorporating an artificial solid-electrolyte interphase rich in inorganic components on the graphite electrode. Extremely fast charging (i.e. 80% of storage capacity within 15 min) is a pressing requirement for current lithium-ion battery technology and also affects the planning of charging infrastructure. Accelerating lithium ion transport through the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is a major obstacle in boosting charging rate; in turn, limited kinetics at the SEI layer negatively affect the cycle life and battery safety as a result of lithium metal plating on the electrode surface. Here, we report a gamma-ray-driven SEI layer that allows a battery cell to be charged to 80% capacity in 10.8 min as determined for a graphite full-cell with a capacity of 2.6 mAh cm(-2). This exceptional charging performance is attributed to the lithium fluoride-rich SEI induced by salt-dominant decomposition via gamma-ray irradiation. This study highlights the potential of non-electrochemical approaches to adjust the SEI composition toward fast charging and long-term stability, two parameters that are difficult to improve simultaneously in typical electrochemical processes owing to the trade-off relation.