Revisiting Solid Electrolyte Interphase on the Carbonaceous Electrodes Using Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

It is widely accepted that solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer of carbonaceous material is formed by irreversible decomposition reaction of an electrolyte, and acts as a passivation layer to prevent further decomposition of the electrolyte, ensuring reliable operation of a Li-ion battery. On the other hand, recent studies have reported that some transition metal oxide anode materials undergo reversible decomposition of an organic electrolyte during cycling, which is completely different from carbonaceous anode materials. In this work, we revisit the electrochemical reaction of an electrolyte that produces SEI layer on the surface of carbonaceous anode materials using soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. We discover that the reversible formation and decomposition of SEI layer are also able to occur on the carbonaceous materials in both Li- and Na-ion battery systems. These new findings on the unexpected behavior of SEI in the carbonaceous anode materials revealed by soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy would be highly helpful in more comprehensive understanding of the interfacial chemistry of carbonaceous anode materials in Li- and Na-ion batteries.