Dead lithium formation in lithium metal batteries: A phase field model

Lithium metal batteries are the most promising choices for next-generation high-energy–density batteries. However, there is little mechanism understanding on lithium dendrite growth during lithium plating and the dead lithium (the main component of inactive lithium) formation during lithium stripping. This work proposed a phase field model to describe the lithium stripping process with dead lithium formation. The coupling of galvanostatic conditions enables the phase field method to accurately match experimental results. The factors influencing the dead lithium formation on the increasing discharge polarization are revealed. Besides, the simulation of the battery polarization curve, the capacity loss peak, and the Coulomb efficiency is realized. This contribution affords an insightful understanding on dead lithium formation with phase field methods, which can contribute general principles on rational design of lithium metal batteries.