An interfacial reaction is a chemical transformation that takes place at the boundary between two phases in contact and produces a layer whose composition differs from either of them. In an electrochemical cell this layer grows where the electrode meets the electrolyte, because the potential window of the electrolyte exceeds the range in which both are stable; reduction products of the salt and the solvent precipitate on the electrode and, being electronically insulating but ionically conducting, slow further reaction once they reach a certain thickness [1]. The same process occurs on the positive electrode, where an analogous film forms during charge and modifies the charge-transfer resistance there [2]. Which compounds appear first is set by the salt anion and the solvent, so changing the electrolyte composition changes both the layer chemistry and the interfacial resistance [3]. Because the layer thickens slowly and consumes mobile lithium, continuum models treat it as a growing resistive film coupled to capacity loss over many cycles [4]. Following the process while the cell operates, rather than after disassembly, is what has made the sequence of steps measurable [5].
- solid electrolyte interphase
- electrode-electrolyte boundary
- passivation layer
- electrolyte decomposition
- interfacial resistance
- charge transfer
Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies·Electrical and Electronic Engineering·Engineering·Physical Sciences
References
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