Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Coupling in All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries: From Stress Generation to Failure Mitigation
5 affiliations
- 1Advanced Institute for Materials Research (AIMR), Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
- 2Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
- 3Fracture and Reliability Research Institute, Department of Finemechanics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan
- 4Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Pohang 37673, Republic of Korea
- 5Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 89081 Ulm, Germany
Abstract
All-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs) promise enhanced safety and high energy density, yet their solid–solid interfaces create mechanical constraints absent from conventional liquid-electrolyte cells. Electrochemical reactions, ion transport, and interfacial reactions generate lattice strain, volume change, and heterogeneous stress; in turn, stress redistributes ionic and electronic transport, reaction kinetics, and local current density. This bidirectional electro-chemo-mechanical coupling drives particle cracking, interfacial debonding, contact loss, void formation, lithium-filament penetration, and ultimately capacity decay or short circuiting. In this review, we establish a multiscale framework connecting the origins of stress to electrochemical consequences and failure across the crystal, particle, electrode, interface, and cell levels. We critically examine cathode deformation, lithium plating and stripping, stack-pressure evolution, thermal mismatch, and defect-assisted fracture, together with operando imaging, stress sensing, and multiphysics modeling approaches used to resolve these processes. We further assess mitigation strategies based on low-strain electrodes, mechanically compatible composite cathodes, defect-tolerant solid electrolytes, adaptive interphases, regulated stack pressure, and cell architecture. Finally, we identify the need for quantitative failure criteria, multimodal operando characterization, and standardized testing under practical conditions to accelerate durable, high-energy ASSLMBs.
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BibTeX
@article{li2026electrochemomechanical,
title = {{Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Coupling in All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries: From Stress Generation to Failure Mitigation}},
author = {Qichanghao Li and Ying Li and Zihao Wang and Kyu-Young Park and Simon Fleischmann and Hidemi Kato and Eric Jianfeng Cheng},
journal = {Batteries},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/batteries12100392},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/12/10/392},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Coupling in All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries: From Stress Generation to Failure Mitigation
AU - Qichanghao Li
AU - Ying Li
AU - Zihao Wang
AU - Kyu-Young Park
AU - Simon Fleischmann
AU - Hidemi Kato
AU - Eric Jianfeng Cheng
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/03
JO - Batteries
DO - 10.3390/batteries12100392
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2313-0105/12/10/392
AB - All-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs) promise enhanced safety and high energy density, yet their solid–solid interfaces create mechanical constraints absent from conventional liquid-electrolyte cells. Electrochemical reactions, ion transport, and interfacial reactions generate lattice strain, volume change, and heterogeneous stress; in turn, stress redistributes ionic and electronic transport, reaction kinetics, and local current density. This bidirectional electro-chemo-mechanical coupling drives particle cracking, interfacial debonding, contact loss, void formation, lithium-filament penetration, and ultimately capacity decay or short circuiting. In this review, we establish a multiscale framework connecting the origins of stress to electrochemical consequences and failure across the crystal, particle, electrode, interface, and cell levels. We critically examine cathode deformation, lithium plating and stripping, stack-pressure evolution, thermal mismatch, and defect-assisted fracture, together with operando imaging, stress sensing, and multiphysics modeling approaches used to resolve these processes. We further assess mitigation strategies based on low-strain electrodes, mechanically compatible composite cathodes, defect-tolerant solid electrolytes, adaptive interphases, regulated stack pressure, and cell architecture. Finally, we identify the need for quantitative failure criteria, multimodal operando characterization, and standardized testing under practical conditions to accelerate durable, high-energy ASSLMBs.
SN - 2313-0105
ER -