MICROELECTRODE STUDIES OF THE LI/LI+ COUPLE IN SOCL2/LIALCL4

Potential sweep and step experiments at microdisk electrodes, radius 4-40 mu m, have been used to investigate the nucleation and growth of lithium metal, the anodic dissolution of lithium, the kinetics of the Li/Li** plus couple, and the role of surface films in SOCl//2/LiAlCl//4 . The kinetics of the Li/Li** plus couple at freshly deposited Li are fast, and both deposition and dissolution of the metal occur with only small overpotentials. Indeed, under these conditions, the electrochemistry of the system is essentially simple, and the kinetics of the couple are fully described by the Butler-Volmer equation. Experiments are described which allow the initial stages of film formation to be followed and the influence of such films on lithium deposition and dissolution to be defined.