Blog

Apr 01, 2023

Lithium filaments wedge open cracks in solid

Kelsey B. Hatzell is at the Andinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and

Kelsey B. Hatzell is at the Andinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA.

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Maha Yusuf is in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.

You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are crucial in a range of applications, including portable electronics, electric vehicles and grid-scale energy storage. Such batteries depend on the movement of lithium ions between an anode and a cathode through a liquid electrolyte. A promising strategy for the next generation of rechargeable batteries is the use of solid electrolytes and an anode made of lithium metal — such cells are known as lithium-metal solid-state batteries. However, these devices are prone to a failure mechanism in which filaments of lithium, known as dendrites, form during battery operation and pierce the electrolyte. Writing in Nature, Ning et al.1 cast light on this mechanism, revealing details that might bring practically useful lithium-metal solid-state batteries closer to reality.

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

$29.99 / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 618, 247-248 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01813-4

Ning, Z. et al. Nature 618, 287–293 (2023).

Article Google Scholar

Jürgen, J. & Zeier, W. G. Nature Energy 8, 230–240 (2023).

Article Google Scholar

Bates, A. M. et al. Joule 6, 742–755 (2022).

Article Google Scholar

Hatzell, K. B. et al. ACS Energy Lett. 5, 922–934 (2020).

Article Google Scholar

Lee, K., Kazyak, E., Wang, M. J., Dasgupta, N. P. & Sakamoto, J. Joule 6, 2547–2565 (2022).

Article Google Scholar

Download references

The authors declare no competing interests.

Read the paper: Dendrite initiation and propagation in lithium metal solid-state batteries

Lattice strain blights lithium-ion batteries

Machine-learning techniques used to accurately predict battery life

See all News & Views

All-perovskite tandem solar cells with 3D/3D bilayer perovskite heterojunction

Article 08 JUN 23

Joyous ode by Beethoven flows from a robot's fingers

Research Highlight 07 JUN 23

Organic–inorganic covalent–ionic molecules for elastic ceramic plastic

Article 07 JUN 23

Organic–inorganic covalent–ionic molecules for elastic ceramic plastic

Article 07 JUN 23

Dendrite initiation and propagation in lithium metal solid-state batteries

Article 07 JUN 23

Transannular C–H functionalization of cycloalkane carboxylic acids

Article 31 MAY 23

India cuts periodic table and evolution from school textbooks — experts are baffled

News 31 MAY 23

Electricity outages delay SDGs in sub-Saharan Africa

Correspondence 30 MAY 23

Better batteries built using existing technology

Outlook 24 MAY 23

Two-year postdoctoral fellowship on carbon burial in marine sediments at Umeå University, Sweden

Umeå, Sweden

Umeå University (KBC)

Join Us and Create a Bright Future Together!

Shanghai, China

East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST)

Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) is a public research university funded by Shenzhen city. Widely regarded as a pioneer and i...

Shenzhen

Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech)

Chinese Academy of Sciences, seeks exceptional, creative scientists to join its faculty.

Shanghai, China

The Institute of Neuroscience,Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology,CAS

Situated in the historical and cultural city of Nanjing, CPU seeks talented scientists from the globe.

Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

China Pharmaceutical University