Mechanically driven Li dendrite penetration in garnet solid electrolyte
. Here we investigate the fracture process driven by lithium dendrites in garnet electrolytes using multiscale cryogenic electron microscopy and micromechanical fracture models. We directly visualize lithium dendrites fully filling nanoscale crack tips and extending into micrometre-scale cracks. Limited crystal lattice rotation and plasticity in lithium dendrites indicate that the plated lithium generates substantial hydrostatic stress, which induces tensile stress in the solid electrolyte and drives both intergranular and transgranular fracture. By contrast, the region ahead of the lithium dendrite tip shows no measurable enrichment of lithium or lithium metal nuclei. The mechanically driven lithium penetration in garnet solid electrolyte can be redirected by geometrically engineered voids in the electrolyte, thus mitigating short-circuiting. Our findings suggest that grain boundary toughening and defect engineering are effective strategies for designing dendrite-resistant solid electrolytes.
Authors
- Yug Joshi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7920-5890)
- Stefan Zaefferer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1458-5831)
- P. Schweizer
- Franz Roters (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9098-9566)
- Dierk Raabe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0194-6124)
- Eric Woods (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1169-893X)
- Gerhard Dehm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1601-8267)
- Baptiste Gault (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4934-0458)
- Christina Scheu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7916-1533)
- Soroush Motahari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3259-7062)
- Chuanlai Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0224-9649)
- Zhiyuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6823-8283)
- Yuwei Zhang
- Siyuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7045-0865)
- Yuqi Liu
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Nachhaltige Materialien (DE)
- Groupe de Physique des Matériaux (FR)
- Université de Rouen Normandie (FR)
- Institut National des Sciences Appliquées Rouen Normandie (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature
- Published
- 2026-04-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10415-9
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University
- International Max Planck Research School for Advanced Methods in Process and Systems Engineering
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft