A simple model for diffusion-induced dislocations during the lithiation of crystalline materials

Assuming that the lithiation reaction occurs randomly in individual small particles in the vicinity of the reaction front, a simple model of diffusion-induced dislocations was developed. The diffusion-induced dislocations are controlled by the misfit strain created by the diffusion of solute atoms or the phase transformation in the vicinity of the reaction front. The dislocation density is proportional to the total surface area of the “lithiated particle” and inversely proportional to the particle volume. The diffusion-induced dislocations relieve the diffusion-induced stresses.