Coarse-grained simulation of lithium dendrite suppression by flowable polymer coating*

Coating lithium anode with flowable polymer layer may effectively suppress lithium dendrite growth at high current density.^[1] Although the underlying mechanism is poorly explored, the sensitivity on dielectric permittivity and thickness of the polymer layer has been identified.^[2] A coarse-grained simulation of lithium deposition in presence of polymer coating, which explicitly incorporates the dielectric heterogeneity, is presented. It was found that the more effective coatings are more adaptable, have modest elasticity, and maintain integrity during deposition. Higher polymer dielectric permittivity and coating thickness inhibit the growth of dendrite, but inevitably sacrifice battery performance.
[1] Zheng et al., ACS Energy Lett., 2016, 1:1247.
[2] Lopez et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018, 140:11735.