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

Abstract 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 γ-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 γ-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.