A New Energy Storage Mechanism of Solid-State Batteries

Current mainstream research on solid state batteries always follows traditional electrochemical theory. It attributes battery energy storage and charge discharge behaviors to redox chemical reactions of electrodes, and regards core bottlenecks such as lithium dendrite growth, interface failure and cyclic capacity fading as consequences of chemical side reactions and uneven interfacial electric fields. This theoretical framework is only an empirical fitting of macroscopic phenomena. It cannot reasonably explain the ion transport rules, charge trapping characteristics and lithium precipitation mechanism of solid state batteries without liquid electrolytes, which restricts long term technological breakthroughs of the industry. Based on the Theory of Light Origin, this paper establishes a physical energy storage mechanism of lattice perturbation potential energy and reconstructs the microscopic working principle of solid state batteries. The study shows that no chemical bond cleavage or reconstruction occurs during charging and discharging of solid state batteries. The essence of energy storage is not chemical reaction, but lattice perturbation potential energy formed by spatial separation of positive and negative charges. During charging, after lithium ions are extracted from the positive electrode, negative charges are permanently trapped inside the positive electrode lattice, and only lithium ions migrate directionally along lattice vacancies of the solid electrolyte. This paper further distinguishes the differentiated lithium precipitation mechanisms of graphite anodes and metallic lithium anodes, and clarifies that the fundamental source of lithium dendrite formation is local overload enrichment of lithium ions rather than electrochemical side reactions. It corrects the industry’s inherent cognition of one sided pursuit of high lithium ion migration rates. Drawing on the ideas of semiconductor coating and integrated forming processes, a new material selection and fabrication scheme with ultrathin single crystal short channel solid electrolytes and gradient layered lithium storage anodes is proposed. The in situ growth process avoids solid solid interface defects, providing a new physical theoretical support for developing long life and highsafety solid state energy storage devices.