Morphology prediction of lithium plating by finite element modeling and simulations based on non-linear kinetics

Lithium metal has a very high theoretical energy density and is one of the most promising anode materials for a new generation of lithium batteries. It is easy to form dendrites during the deposition of lithium metal, which greatly affects the safety and service life of lithium metal batteries. Mechanism of dendrite propagation in lithium metal batteries (LMB) is still to be fundamentally described. Herein, we studied the effects of electrochemical parameters on the behavior of lithium plating at the electrode/electrolyte interface using a tertiary current model by finite-element methods. The results show that dendrite growth is intrinsically influenced by differences in concentration and potential. A higher diffusion coefficient (D_e) of Li ion in electrolyte is effective to improve uniformity of local concentration and a smaller exchange current density (i⁰) is essential for reducing sensitivity of interface reaction. Activation polarization is beneficial for uniform plating of lithium. Thus, the polarization curve is extremely important to determine whether lithium deposits uniformly or not. This work results in a new understanding of principles for dendrite growth, and is expected to lead to new insights on strategies for dendrite suppression.