New multiphysics model couples electrochemical and mechanical dynamics in all-solid-state battery

Surface modifications, such as carbon coatings or mechanically adaptive interlayers, offer promising solutions for the critical bottleneck of instable interface in all-solid-sate battery. Conventional models frequently oversimplify stress-modulated Li⁺ transport or assume idealized interfacial bonding, limiting their predictive power for real-world failure mechanisms.

A research team has developed a model to study stress evolution in battery electrode materials during lithiation. Researchers have developed this advanced multiphysics model that explicitly couples electrochemical behavior with mechanical responses in battery electrodes. The framework adapts Newman's classical battery model to account for unique charge transport in single-ion conducting electrolytes (SE), where immobilized counter-ions constrain lithium-ion mobility.

The team published their work in Energy Materials and Devices on 11 August 2025.

"Carbon coatings significantly enhance interfacial stability and lithiation kinetics compared to uncoated or inactive-coated systems. By regulating electrochemical potential gradients, carbon coating mitigates lithium-ion concentration inhomogeneity and reduces residual stress, leading to an improved capacity performance." the authors state.

This study not only advances fundamental understanding of SiO-carbon composite interfaces but also provides actionable design principles for ASSBs. Future efforts should prioritize experimental validation of optimized coatings and long-term cycling studies to translate these computational insights into practical, high-energy-density battery systems.

The study—conducted by Xiang Gao, Linan Jia, and Xi Zhang—was supported by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Grant WH220402052)