Observation of Lithium Dendrites at Ambient Temperature and Below
Open accessAbstract
Lithium-ion batteries are prone to failure at low temperatures and dendrite growth during charging is one suspect. We attempt to understand lithium dendrite growth by observing their number, initiation time and growth rate at ambient and sub-ambient temperatures: −10°C, 5°C, and 20°C using an in-situ optical microscopy cell (Li 0 |Li 0 ). We find that while dendrites initiate quickly at −10°C, the cells at 5°C short-circuit most rapidly due in part to a favorable morphology at this temperature. The experimental approach has broad applicability to other electrochemical energy storage technologies where mass transport limitations are present at low temperatures, particularly Li-air, Li-S, and Zn-air batteries.
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The existing capacity decay during LT cycling can be partially caused by lithium plating and the growth of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer.
“The existing capacity decay during LT cycling can be partially caused by lithium plating and the growth of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer32,33,34,35,36.”
From High-performance Na3V2(PO4)3/C cathode for efficient low-temperature lithium-ion batteries (2025) · cites this paper as [35]
The paper states that low-temperature charging can cause lithium plating and that uniform plating leads to a loss of useful capacity. In Results and Discussion, it discusses how SEI-layer thickness affects dendrite growth, but it does not say that growth of the SEI layer causes capacity decay during low-temperature cycling. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Studies on Charging Lithium-Ion Cells at Low Temperatures
Fan, J., & Tan, S. (2006) · Journal of The Electrochemical Society · doi:10.1149/1.2190029 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
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A failure modes, mechanisms, and effects analysis (FMMEA) of lithium-ion batteries
Hendricks, C., Williard, N., Mathew, S., & Pecht, M. (2015) · Journal of Power Sources · doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.07.100 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Spinner, N. S., Love, C. T., Rose-Pehrsson, S. L., & Tuttle, S. G. (2015) · Electrochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2015.06.003 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Self-citationHigh-performance Na3V2(PO4)3/C cathode for efficient low-temperature lithium-ion batteries
Mukushev, I., Tyan, Y., Kalimuldina, G., Mukanova, A., Jakupova, Z., Kim, S.-S., Bakenov, Z., & Nurpeissova, A. (2025) · NPG Asia Materials · doi:10.1038/s41427-025-00591-x · Cited by 11 · see citing works
- Authors
- Love, C. T., Baturina, O. A., & Swider-Lyons, K. E.
- Affiliations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory (US)
- Venue
- ECS Electrochemistry Letters
- Publisher
- The Electrochemical Society
- Published
- 2014-12-11
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- A24-A27
- ISSN
- 2162-8726 (ISSN-L)
- 2162-8734
- OpenAlex
- W2097044885
- Cited by
- 166
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 3
- FWCI
- 3.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- ECS Electrochemistry Letters (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Office of Naval Research
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Advancements in Battery Materials
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Automotive Engineering › Advanced Battery Technologies Research
- Keywords
- lithium dendrites, dendritic growth, lithium-ion batteries, dendrite growth rate, short circuit, mass transfer limitations, in situ optical microscopy, lithium-oxygen batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries, zinc-air batteries
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