Pulse Charging Strategies for Lithium Metal Batteries

Daniel Jacobson, California Institute of Technology

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Pulse charging has been shown to suppress dendrite formation in lithium metal batteries. This phenomenon was discovered using a computational particle-based reaction-diffusion model and later validated experimentally. Pulsing gives lithium ions more time to diffuse before they react with the electrode surface, resulting in more uniform deposition. The comparative benefit of pulse charging versus constant voltage charging, however, has not yet been analyzed within this theoretical framework. A charging strategy could potentially be designed to minimize dendrite formation, charging time or overpotential losses. In this investigation, we apply the same particle reaction-diffusion model used previously along with a continuum model based on solving the diffusion equation to elucidate the trade-offs between these different criteria. Our results yield important insights for implementing effective charging strategies for both lithium metal and lithium ion batteries.

Abstract Author(s): Daniel R. Jacobson, Thomas F. Miller III