Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Modelling

Author ORCID Identifier

Arjun S. Kulathuvayal https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1752-6781

Yanqing Su https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0790-5905

Volume

6

Issue

3

Publisher

MDPI AG

Publication Date

8-23-2025

Journal Article Version

Version of Record

First Page

1

Last Page

22

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is a passive layer, typically a few hundred angstroms thick, that forms on the electrode surface in the first few battery cycles when the electrode is in contact with the electrolyte in lithium-metal batteries. Composed of a combination of lithium salts and organic compounds, the SEI plays a critical role in battery performance, serving as a channel for Li-ion shuttling. Its structure typically comprises an inorganic component-rich sublayer near the electrode and an outer organic component-rich sublayer. Understanding heat transport through the SEI is crucial for improving battery pack safety, particularly since the Li-ion diffusion coefficient exhibits an exponential temperature dependence. This study employs first-principles calculations to investigate phonon-mediated temperature-dependent lattice thermal conductivity across the inorganic components of the SEI, including, LiF, Li2O, Li2 S, Li 2CO3 , and LiOH. This study is also extended to the dependence of the grain size on thermal conductivity, considering the mosaic-structured nature of the SEI.

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