Cyclic voltammetry lithium battery electrodes

Electrochemical stability of materials is the basis of safe behavior of a cell and any cell assemblies (batteries). Cyclic voltammetry can be used to evaluate the electrochemical stability window of materials. Thermodynamic stability of materials in intimate contact within the cell is desired but not always realized in high-voltage cells. Kinetic stability can be sufficient to design a working electrochemical cell. An example is the Li-oxyhalide catholyte primary battery in which a passivation layer forms on the lithium anode surfaces in the presence of neutral oxyhalide catholyte, and this layer provides separation between the two reactive electrode materials. An initially formed reaction layer of LiCl crystals protects the lithium metal from continued contact and further reaction. In acid catholytes, the passivation layer is dissolved immediately, producing heat that may cause a rapid increase in temperature. The same passivation layer in neutral solutions may result in deep reversals of the battery cell under rapid discharges (see Section 27.3.3). 

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