Minimal Architecture Lithium Batteries: Toward High Energy Density Storage Solutions.

The coupling of thick and dense cathodes with anode-free lithium metal configuration is a promising path to enable the next generation of high energy density solid-state batteries. In this work, LiCoO (30 µm)/LiPON/Ti is considered as a model system to study the correlation between fundamental electrode properties and cell electrochemical performance, and a physical model is proposed to understand the governing phenomena. The first cycle loss is demonstrated to be constant and independent of both cathode thickness and anode configuration, and only ascribed to the diffusion coefficient's abrupt fall at high lithium contents.