Abstract
Solid-state lithium metal batteries are facing huge challenges under practical working conditions1,2. Even when the ionic conductivity of composite solid-state electrolytes is increased to 1 mS cm−1, it is still difficult to realize long-life cycling of solid-state batteries above a current density of 1 mA cm−2 and an areal capacity of 1 mAh cm−2 (ref. 3). The fundamental cause is the brittle nature of the solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) with sluggish lithium-ion transport and the resulting lithium dendrites and severe side reactions. Here we report a ductile inorganic-rich SEI that retains its structural integrity while allowing easy ion diffusion at high current densities and areal capacities. The ductility of the SEI is ascribed to the Ag2S and AgF components, which are formed by a substitution reaction between Li2S/LiF in the SEI and AgNO3 in the dielectric composite electrolytes. Even at a high current density of 15 mA cm−2 and an areal capacity of 15 mAh cm−2, a symmetrical lithium cell with such an SEI has a long cycle life of over 4,500 hours. Furthermore, the ductile SEI also works over 7,000 hours at −30 °C, even under practical conditions of 5 mA cm−2 and 5 mAh cm−2.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (number 52325206), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (number 2021YFF0500600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (numbers U2001220, 52203298 and 92470110), the Shenzhen Outstanding Talents Training Fund (number RCJC20200714114436091), the Shenzhen Technical Plan Project (numbers JCYJ20220530143012027, JCYJ20220818101003008, JCYJ20241202124002004 and JCYJ20220818101003007), the Shenzhen Pengrui Young Faculty Program Research Plan (number SZPR2023006), the Shenzhen Stable Support Program for Higher Education Institutions (number WDZC20231126215806001), and the Shenzhen All-Solid-State Lithium Battery Electrolyte Engineering Research Centre Upgrade Project (number XMHT20240108008). We thank the Testing Technology Center of Materials and Devices, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (https://mdtc.sz.tsinghua.edu.cn) for the atomic force microscopy, Raman and XPS measurements.
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Y.-B.H., J. Mi, Q.-H.Y. and F.K. conceived of the idea. Y.-B.H., T.H., W.L., Q.-H.Y. and F.K. supervised the project. Y.-B.H., J. Mi, L.C, W.L., T.H. and F.K. designed the experiments. J. Mi performed the experiments with help from L.C., X.A., J. Ma, K.Y., J.B., Y. Long, H.G., G.X., D.Z., X.C. and Y.H. W.C., L.G., R.K. and B.H. performed the cryo-TEM experiments. J.Y., S.T., T.H. and Y.X. performed the theoretical calculations. Y. Li and M.L. performed the NMR measurements. All authors discussed the results in the paper. J. Mi, Y.-B.H., T.H., W.L., L.C., Q.-H.Y. and F.K. wrote and revised the initial paper, which was approved by all authors.
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Mi, J., Yang, J., Chen, L. et al. A ductile solid electrolyte interphase for solid-state batteries. Nature 647, 86–92 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09675-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09675-8
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