{
  "abstract": "All-solid-state batteries promise safer, more energy-dense storage than cells built on liquid electrolytes. Among solid-state electrolytes, halide electrolytes offer high ionic conductivity, anodic stability, and room-temperature processability, yet stable cycling is typically achieved under stack pressures of tens to hundreds of megapascals, for reasons that remain unclear. Here we identify the unusually high susceptibility of brittle halide electrolytes to fracture as the mechanism underlying and show that stack pressure—conventionally applied to suppress mechanical damage—can instead promote it by enhancing strain transfer from the active materials to the surrounding electrolyte. Operando scanning electron microscopy captures crack initiation and propagation within electrolyte domains in composite cathodes driven by active material volume changes, while nanoindentation reveals an exceptionally low fracture toughness of 0.23 MPa·m1/2 for the representative halide electrolyte Li3YCl6, substantially lower than the 0.7−1.0 MPa·m1/2 for typical sulfide and oxide electrolytes. Pressure-dependent electrochemical and morphological analyses show that, although modest pressure is sufficient to maintain interparticle contact, increasing pressure beyond this level promotes electrolyte fracture and accelerates capacity loss. Guided by this insight, we demonstrate an anode-free halide pouch cell that retains 85% of its capacity over 200 cycles at C/3 under only 2 MPa. Together, these findings show that the high stack pressures widely used in halide solid-state batteries primarily compensate for the consequences of electrolyte fracture rather than reflecting the pressure intrinsically required for stable operation, establishing a mechanical basis for low-pressure halide solid-state batteries.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Texas Center for Superconductivity",
    "University of Houston",
    "Department of Physics and Astronomy",
    "University of Kentucky",
    "Chemical Sciences Division",
    "Oak Ridge National Laboratory",
    "Applied Energy Division",
    "SLAC National Laboratory",
    "Department of Materials Science and Engineering",
    "Stanford University",
    "Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering",
    "Columbia University",
    "Columbia Climate School"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Liqun Guo"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Jie Zheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Lihong Zhao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Santosh Thapa"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Yanliang Liang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Phat Tieu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mai Le"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Yang-Tse Cheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Robert L. Sacci"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7,
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Jagjit Nanda"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        10,
        11,
        12
      ],
      "name": "Yan Yao",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8785-5030"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/aa5xqgtwyjgne.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009212/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "aa5xqgtwyjgne",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009212/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2208|Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213978018",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009212/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-21",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/aa5xqgtwyjgne.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009212",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009212/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "source:chemrxiv",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Fracture mechanics favors lower-than-expected stack pressures in halide solidstate batteries",
  "title_text": "Fracture mechanics favors lower-than-expected stack pressures in halide solidstate batteries",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:21Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/aa5xqgtwyjgne",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}