Using electrochemical surface plasmon resonance for in-situ kinetic investigations of solid electrolyte interphase formation in lithium ion battery

The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) significantly affects the energy density and safety performance of lithium ion batteries. Previous studies have shown that conventional analyses cannot characterize the real-time molecule interactions of SEI formation on the surface of an electrode. In this study, a novel in situ electrochemical-surface plasmon resonance (EC-SPR) was developed for evaluating the kinetic changes of ionic dissociation, SEI formation, and Li-Au alloying reaction. The novel EC-SPR not only indicates the rates of each reaction stage but also reveals the characteristics of the passivated layers. This research demonstrates that the dissociation rates of ionic clusters are affected by several reactions on the surface of an electrode. The rate and mass of the SEI formation from the reduction of ethylene carbonate (EC) are calculated at 0.004 ngs-1 and 5.858 ng, respectively. The EC-SPR is a powerful tool for further in situ kinetic investigations of different electrolyte and electrode systems.