Quantifying lithium lost to plating and formation of the solid-electrolyte interphase in graphite and commercial battery components

A key degradation mechanism in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is the irreversible loss of cyclable lithium during cycling. At the graphite negative electrode, this loss occurs through the deposition of lithium-containing compounds in the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) and through plating of metallic lithium, resulting in so-called dead lithium. The separate quantification of SEI and dead lithium has so far been a challenge in post mortem analysis of commercial LIBs. Here we report a simple and fast 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) protocol applied to solid-state samples derived from lab-built batteries to independently quantify these and other lithium species in graphite electrodes without the need for specialized cell design nor knowledge of prior charging history. The metallic lithium content is corroborated by electrochemical calculations; the total amount of lithium is also determined from 7Li liquid-state NMR and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) in suitably digested samples. Factors influencing accuracy like the sample handling process, the radiofrequency skin effect, and re-intercalation losses are investigated. Measurements on samples from commercial cells aged under realistic conditions demonstrate quantification of dead lithium and remaining ionic species (SEI), and further reveal lithium dendrites entrained in the separator following cell disassembly. The method uses conventional and widely available NMR instrumentation and is applicable to samples from lab-scale test cells or commercial batteries, thereby presenting a vast improvement over prior post mortem methods.