Surface Treatment of Garnet-Type Solid Electrolyte for Suppressing Dendritic Growth

Garnet-type solid electrolytes are regarded as promising electrolytes for oxide-based solid-state batteries due to their stability against lithium metal. However, lithium metal anodes on garnet-type solid electrolytes often exhibit dendritic growth, leading to internal short-circuit. This study reveals that immersion of the solid electrolytes in an aqueous solution of LiOH is a very simple and effective way to suppress dendritic growth. It removes the contamination layer formed on the electrolyte surface by exposure to ambient air, and it makes the interface to the lithium metal anode conductive and the current density homogeneous.