Modeling the Influence of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase on the Sand's Time and Dendrite Formation on Lithium Metal Electrodes

Modeling the Influence of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase on the Sand's Time and Dendrite Formation on Lithium Metal Electrodes | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Modeling the Influence of the Solid Electrolyte Interphase on the Sand's Time and Dendrite Formation on Lithium Metal Electrodes Nicholas R. Cross, Tiras Y. Lin, Nicholas W. Brady, Sam Sankar Selvasundarasekar, and 7 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7305245/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 23 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Lithium metal is a sought after battery material for its high energy density due to the low electrochemical potential and density. However, lithium metal is also highly reactive, which results in a strong propensity for dendrite formation. The Sand's time has previously been used to predict the time of dendrite initiation on metals that do not form a solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI), but it has been shown that the Sand's time is not accurate for lithium electrodes when using transport parameters associated with the electrolyte. Thus, we built a numerical model to simulate lithium ion transport through a growing SEI to predict the Sand's time. The numerical model is shown to be more accurate than previous analytical solutions, especially for low current densities. We then analyze the sensitivity of the Sand's time to different SEI properties and the chemical potential gradients present in the SEI, driving lithium transport. The results showed that high lithium concentration has a greater impact at high current density, while fast diffusivity is more important at low current density. Lastly, we modeled the influence of surface roughness on the plating evolution and chemical potential gradients when an SEI is present in comparison to the electrolyte. As a result, we demonstrate that the SEI plays a critical role in lithium electrode stability, and that improved characterization techniques are needed to better understand transport through the SEI and increase lithium metal utilization in energy storage devices. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 15 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 14 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 13 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 09 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 05 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 30 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 13 Sep, 2025 Editor invited by journal 11 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 12 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 12 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 05 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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