Solid electrolyte interphase formation mechanism

Usually, in a given electrolyte solution, there is a similarity in the mechanism of SEI formation on carbon and metallic lithium.285 353 354 The mechanisms of SEI formation on lithium in numerous electrolytes are investigated since about three decades. In about the last 15 years, the focus continuously shifted from metallic lithium to carbon. There are a huge number of publications covering manifold aspects of the carbon s reactivity with the electrolytes and/or the SEI formation. The reader of this chapter is referred to the books published in this field recently and especially to the primary literature listed therein. Examples include Nonaqueous Electrochemistry from 1999 edited by Aurbach,355 Advances in Lithium-Ion Batteries from 2002 edited by van Schalkwijk and Scrosati,356 and Lithium-Ion Batteries Solid-Electrolyte Interphase from 2004 edited by Balbuena and Wang.281... 

This chapter addresses several issues dealing with the mechanism of SEI formation on inert substrates, lithium, carbonaceous materials and tin-based alloys. Attention is currently focused on the correlation between the composition and morphology of the solid-electrolyte interphase forming on the different planes of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and different types of disordered carbon electrodes in lithium-ion cells. 

In this chapter, new trends in the formulation of non-aqueous liquid electrolytes will be discussed. Novel solvents and salts used in Li-ion battery electrolytes are categorized and illustrated, and the progress in understanding the formation mechanism behind the solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is discussed. 

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