Unraveling the Reaction Mystery of Li and Na with Dry Air.

Li and Na metals with high energy density are promising in application in rechargeable batteries but suffer from degradation in the ambient atmosphere. The phenomenon that in terms of kinetics, Li is stable but Na is unstable in dry air has not been fully understood. Here, we use environmental transmission electron microscopy combined with theoretical simulations and reveal that the different stabilities in dry air for Li and Na are reflected by the formation of compact LiO layers on Li metal, while porous and rough NaO/NaO layers on Na metal are a consequence of the different thermodynamic and kinetics in O. It is shown that a preformed carbonate layer can change the kinetics of Na toward an anticorrosive behavior. Our study provides a deeper understanding of the often-overlooked chemical reactions with environmental gases and enhances the electrochemical performance of Li and Na by controlling interfacial stability.