ELECTROCHEMICAL DEPOSITION OF UNIFORM LITHIUM ON AN NI SUBSTRATE IN A NONAQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE

The electrochemical deposition of lithium on an Ni substrate was conducted in propylene carbonate (PC) containing 1.0 mol dm-3 LiClO4 (LiClO4/PC). The morphology of the lithium deposited on the Ni substrate had the typical dendrite form. The electrodeposition of lithium was then performed in LiClO4/PC containing 5 x 10(-3) mol dm-3 HF. The lithium deposited on the Ni substrate in this electrolyte had a hemispherical form, and irregular shapes were not observed. The color of the Ni electrode surface turned to brilliant blue during the electrodeposition of lithium. This indicates that the lithium surface is very smooth and uniform. After five discharge and charge cycles, there were no lithium dendrites on the electrode surface. From these results, it can be concluded that the addition of a small amount of HF to the electrolyte is significantly effective for the suppression to the lithium dendrite formation.