Observation of the surface layer of lithium metal using in situ spectroscopy

In this work, we have investigated the surface of lithium metal using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and optical spectroscopic ellipsometry. Even if we prepare the surface of lithium metal rigorously by chemical cleaning and mechanical polishing inside a glovebox, both spectroscopic investigations...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2022-05, Vol.120 (21)
Main Authors: Seo, Ambrose, Meyer, Andrew, Shrestha, Sujan, Wang, Ming, Xiao, Xingcheng, Cheng, Yang-Tse
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical elements
Electrolytes
Etching
Lithium
MATERIALS SCIENCE
Optical spectroscopy
Passivation
Physics
Solid-state batteries
Spectroscopy
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
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Summary:In this work, we have investigated the surface of lithium metal using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and optical spectroscopic ellipsometry. Even if we prepare the surface of lithium metal rigorously by chemical cleaning and mechanical polishing inside a glovebox, both spectroscopic investigations show the existence of a few tens of nanometer-thick surface layers, consisting of lithium oxides and lithium carbonates. When lithium metal is exposed to room air (~50% moisture), in situ real-time monitoring of optical spectra indicates that the surface layer grows at a rate of approximately 24 nm/min, presumably driven by an interface-controlled process. Our results hint that surface-layer-free lithium metals are formidable to achieve by a simple cleaning/polishing method, suggesting that the initial interface between lithium metal electrodes and solid-state electrolytes in fabricated lithium metal batteries can differ from an ideal lithium/electrolyte contact.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118