Recently, the latest research achievements from the teams led by 91抖淫 Prof. Wu Yuping and Prof. He Jiarui from the School of Energy and Environment and the Next-Generation Energy Storage Center were published online in Joule, a top international journal (a Cell Press journal, Impact Factor: 35.4). The paper is titled “Suppressed Lithium Plating in Graphite Anodes Enabled by Tailoring the Interfacial Lithium Concentration”. The research team utilized a “concentration gradient-driven” design to address the issue of lithium plating in traditional graphite anodes of lithium-ion batteries. This paper marks Southeast University's first researcharticle published inJoule as the sole affiliation.
Graphite anodes face severe challenges under high current density: the solid-phase diffusion rate of lithium ions between graphite layers lags significantly behind the lithium intercalation rate on the surface. This causes lithium ions to continuously accumulate on the surface, ultimately leading to “lithium plating”. These irreversible “dead lithium” deposits not only cause the irreversible loss of active lithium but also become a major cause of battery cycle degradation and safety risks.
To tackle this challenge, the research team proposed an innovative “concentration gradient-driven”control strategy originating from the fundamentals of solid-phase diffusion kinetics. They utilized sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) to construct a uniform, lithium-rich interface layerin situ on the graphite surface (Gr@SPAN). After lithiation, this interface layer establishes a steep lithium concentration gradient between the graphite's surface and bulk phases. This concentration potential difference continuously drives the rapid diffusion of lithium ions into the graphite interior, effectively synchronizing the kinetic processes of solid-phase diffusion and surface lithium intercalation, thereby solving the lithium plating problem in graphite anodes under high current density.
Fig. 1 Morphology and structural characterization of materials
Benefiting from the concentration potential difference created by the lithium-rich interface, the lithium intercalation capacity of the modified graphite anode (Gr@SPAN) is significantly higher than that of traditional graphite anodes. Changes in peak intensity observed via depth-profiling XPS have confirmed the lithium-rich characteristic of the coating layer in the fully lithiated Gr@SPAN anode. Furthermore, analysis of electrodes after cycling has directly demonstrated the effectiveness of lithium plating suppression.
Fig. 2 Verification of Concentration Gradient and Analysis of Lithium Plating Suppression Effect
Based on the above results, the research team proposed a mechanistic model for lithium plating suppression driven by a concentration gradient. This “concentration gradient-driven” strategy utilizes thematerial's inherent physicochemical properties (concentration difference) to drive mass transport, offering a novel approach to suppress lithium plating in graphite anodes under high current density.
Fig. 3 Schematic of lithium plating suppression driven by concentration gradient
Jia Ao, a first-year graduate student (Class of 2023) from the School of Energy and Environment, is the sole first author. Prof. He Jiarui is the sole corresponding author. This research was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Key Research and Development Program of Jiangsu Province, the Distinguished Young Scholars Program of Jiangsu Province, and the Start up Fund for high-level talents at Southeast University.
Paper’s link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102278
Source: the School of Energy and Environment, 91抖淫
