Interfacial engineering of suppressing Li dendrite growth in all solid-state Li-metal batteries

Solid-state electrolytes, as the key component of all solid-state Li metal batteries, address thermal runaway and safety issues of current Li-ion batteries but still face the challenge of Li dendrites. Experimental and theoretical studies demonstrated that Li dendrites grow along the interior cracks of SSEs, in which the conduction of electrons within solid-state electrolytes plays a pivotal role. In this review, the effects of cracks and electron conduction on Li dendrite growth were revealed through advanced characterization techniques and theoretical calculations and the strategies for suppressing Li dendrite growth are summarized, focusing on blocking electron conduction and suppressing the formation of cracks within solid-state electrolytes. This work presents a systematic review of recent progress in Li dendrite growth and provides a deep insight into its causes and solutions, which are crucial for the application of solid-state electrolytes. This work presents a systematic review of recent progress in Li dendrite growth. The origins of Li dendrite growth are ascribed to two mechanisms, crack-induced and electron-conduction.