Fast-charge, long-duration storage in lithium batteries

Summary

Electrode materials that enable lithium (Li) batteries to be charged on timescales of minutes but maintain high energy conversion efficiencies and long-duration storage are of scientific and technological interest. They are fundamentally challenged by the sluggish interfacial ion transport at the anode, slow solid-state ion diffusion, and too fast electroreduction reaction kinetics. Here, we report that Li alloy anodes based on indium (In) exhibit fast Li surface and bulk diffusivities but moderate electroreduction reaction rates. The resultant LiIn anodes appear to belong to a unique class of inherently low second Damköhler (Da) number (LDA_II) materials, which are predicted to exhibit high Li reversibility at unconventionally high charge rates. We demonsterate this capability using Li-ion battery cells in which LiIn anodes are paired with a range of intercalation (e.g., LiFePO₄ and LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂), and conversion (e.g., I₂ and O₂) cathode. We show that such cells manifest excellent fast charging capabilities in a range of electrolyte solvents.