Morphological differences between lithium powder and lithium foil electrode during discharge/charge

The dissolution/deposition behaviors of a lithium powder electrode during discharge/charge were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, and compared with those of a lithium foil electrode. For the lithium foil electrode, the dissolution/deposition of lithium was localized in limited areas on the lithium surface, and then the resulting lithium dendritic growth was accelerated after repeated cycling. On the other hand, for the lithium powder electrode, the dissolution/deposition of lithium was distributed throughout the entire body of the lithium electrode, and the lithium dendritic growth was considerably suppressed. Also, the shape of electrodes was maintained as a mixture of the porous powder particles even after several cycles. The effects of current density on the morphological changes and dissolution/deposition behaviors were also observed.