Lithium Dendrite in All-Solid-State Batteries: Growth Mechanisms, Suppression Strategies, and Characterizations

Li metal has been attracting increasing attention as an anode in all-solid-state batteries because of its lowest electrochemical potential and high capacity, although the problems caused by dendritic growth impedes its further application. For a long time, all-solid-state Li metal batteries (ASLBs) are regarded to revive Li metal due to high mechanical strength. However, numerous works revealed that the dendrite issue widely exists in ASLBs, and the mechanism is complex. This review provides a systematic and in-depth understanding of the thermodynamic, kinetic, electrochemical, chemomechnical, structural stability, and characterizations of Li dendrite in ASLBs. First, the mechanisms for dendrite formation and propagation in polymer, ceramic and glass electrolyte were discussed. Subsequently, based on these mechanisms of dendrite growth, we reviewed various strategies for dendrite suppression. Furthermore, advanced characterization techniques were reviewed for better understanding of dendrite in solid-state batteries.