Yong Min Lee

Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) · Energy Science and Engineering

The energy density of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) can be effectively enhanced by increasing the thickness of a LiNi x Mn y Co 1−x−y O 2 (NMC) electrode and limiting the use of inactive components. However, the deficiency of a binder in thick NMC cathodes causes mechanical failure, such as crack formation and delamination, resulting in performance deter...

To meet the demand for high energy density, Li metal is considered a next-generation anode material owing to its high theoretical specific capacity and low electrode potential. However, conventional LiPF 6 -based electrolytes form a thick and porous solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on Li metal, resulting in poor cycle performance. One attempt to...

Problematic issues with electrically inert binders have been less serious in the conventional lithium-ion batteries by virtue of permeable liquid electrolytes (LEs) for ionic connection and/or carbonaceous additives for electronic connection in the electrodes. Contrary to electron-conductive binders used to maximize an active loading level, the dev...

The combination of a high‐Ni LiNixMnyCo1−x−yO2 (NMC) cathode and Li metal anode is currently considered the most promising candidate for high‐energy‐density Li‐metal batteries. However, undesired parasitic reactions in LiPF6‐based carbonate electrolytes hinder their further application. Herein, we report a new fluorinated linear carbonate additive,...

The electrode structure is a crucial factor for all‐solid‐state batteries (ASSBs) since it affects the electronic and ionic transport properties and determines the electrochemical performance. In terms of electrode structure design, a single‐ion conducting solid polymer electrolyte (SIC‐SPE) is an attractive solid electrolyte (SE) for the composite...

Despite the promises in high‐energy‐density batteries, Li‐metal anodes (LMAs) have suffered from extensive electrolyte decomposition and unlimited volume expansion owing to thick, porous layer buildup during cycling. It mainly originates from a ceaseless reiteration of the formation and collapse of solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI). This study rev...

The practical applications of Li-metal batteries (LMBs) are limited by dendrite formation. Thus, a synergistic approach for enhancing the cycling performance of LMBs by combining dual salts with lithium nitrate as an additive in an ether-based electrolyte system is presented. The dual salts, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) and l...

Halide solid electrolytes are a promising candidate for all-solid-state Li batteries (ASLBs) owing to their mechanical sintering ability and excellent (electro)chemical oxidation stability. However, these advantages are counteracted by the lower Li⁺ conductivities and higher specific densities compared with those of sulfides. Herein, a novel halide...

Polyolefin separators are inherently hydrophobic and thermally unstable, contributing to poor cycle performance and high thermal shrinkage, which can shorten cycle life. Herein, a high-performance supercapacitor based on a composite separator made from nano-Al 2 O 3 /PVDF-coated on polyethylene (PE) polyolefin substrate was prepared using a low-cos...

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used from small electronic devices to large-format electric vehicles and energy storage systems. However, as the energy density of LIBs increases, ensuring safety becomes more important to battery manufacturer. [1] As a result, battery engineers are reluctant to use bare polyethylene separators without the ce...

Li metal powder (LMP) is very promising in practically fabricating thin Li electrodes for high-energy-density Li metal batteries (LMBs), because it allows not only conventional slurry coating but also co-use of functional additives. Also, the LMP has several times higher surface area than that of the Li foil with tens of micrometers, which reduces...

In response to the safety concerns on highly flammable liquid electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) have emerged as promising alternatives for the next generation. The use of solid electrolytes with low flammability can provide resistance to fire/explosion incidents under abnormal conditions. In additio...

To achieve the high energy density of lithium secondary batteries, the Li metal anode with a high theoretical capacity (3860 mAh g ⁻¹ ) and the lowest electrochemical potential (-3.04 vs. SHE) has attracted attention. However, Li metal is plagued with challenges such as irregular dendritic growth during cycling and low Coulombic efficiency (CE), wh...

In case of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESSs), multiple lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells are connected in series or parallel to supply the required capacity and power of appliances. However, there is inevitably a small difference in capacity among mass-produced cells. Furthermore, all the cells cannot degrade at the same rate...

Due to growing demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS), it is essential to meet the requirement for high energy density of Li secondary batteries. In this sense, an electrode chemistry matching high-Ni cathode materials and thin Li metal anode has been investigated most actively under high voltage operation. As a result,...

Due to battery fire accidents while driving and charging an electric vehicle, research on improving battery safety as well as increasing the energy density has been extensively performed. For this purpose, an all-solid-state battery without the flammable liquid electrolyte is being more actively conducted. Among various solid electrolyte types, the...

Dynamic Ionic Transport In article number 2204052, Hochun Lee, Yong Min Lee, Hongkyung Lee, and co‐workers demonstrate Li dendrite suppression with 1‐μm long, magnetic nanospinbar (NSB) dispersed electrolytes. Spatially distributed NSBs within various electrolytes can generate mesoscale turbulence actuated by an external rotating magnetic field. NS...

The increasing demand for short charging time on electric vehicles has motivated realization of fast chargeable lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). However, shortening charging time of LIBs is limited by Li+ intercalation process consisting of liquid‐phase diffusion, de‐solvation, SEI crossing, and solid‐phase diffusion. Herein, we propose a new strategy...

Li metal powders (LMPs) are beneficial to fabricating thin and large-area Li electrodes for Li metal batteries (LMBs) owing to slurry coating-based manufacturing and facile impregnation of functional additives. 3D structure of LMP-based composites can alleviate the local current density even at a higher current. However, non-uniform nucleation and...

We demonstrate that dispersion stability and excellent coating quality are achieved in polyethylene (PE) separators by premixing heterogeneous ceramics such as silica (SiO2) and alumina (Al2O3) in an aqueous solution, without the need for functional additives such as dispersing agents and surfactants. Due to the opposite polarities of the zeta pote...

Among the next-generation battery technologies, all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASLBs) are the most attractive because of the high safety and high energy density. The critical difference between ASLBs and conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is the replacement of the liquid electrolyte with a solid electrolyte (SE). Thus, for battery develo...

Enlarging the surface area in the Li metal electrode is practically attractive for increasing long-term cycle life. In this regard, Li metal powders (LMPs) have a larger surface area, which is very beneficial for controlling dendrites and fast charging compared to planar Li metal foil. However, there is the need to increase nucleation sites in LMP...

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are used in everyday applications such as portable electronics and electric vehicles (EVs) in our daily life. In large-scale batteries such as EVs, high energy density has been developed to secure longer mileage with one charge. Securing battery safety becomes extremely challenging as densifying the cell energy and incr...

Electrochemical parameters such as chemical diffusion coefficients and exchange current densities are very critical in simulating electrochemical battery models. However, conventional experimental methods have not reflect actual status of composite electrodes and cells due to the limitation in analyzing their micro-structures. To address these chal...

The Li metal anode has been spotlighted for large-scale battery systems such as electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESSs) because of its high theoretical energy density and lowest potential. However, the Li metal anode still has the several challenging issues like Li dendrite growth and many side reactions. Our strategy to this prob...

The novel electrode design, which is a diffusion-dependent electrode structure composed only of active materials, can theoretically realize high energy density. The diffusion-dependent electrode structure can transport lithium ions in the entire electrode through lithium-ion diffusion between the active material particles unless the connectivity be...

The diffusivity and exchange current density are the two main parameters that determine both ionics and electrodics in the Newman’s battery model. Nonetheless, the values of both parameters are normally selected from eminent literatures or experimental data measured under specific conditions, furthermore, and they are occasionally overfitted to coi...

An internal short circuit (ISC) is known to be the main cause of fatal accidents in Li-ion batteries (LIBs). If two electrodes come into contact with each other because of any event, the inner temperature of LIBs increases rapidly within the very short time. If the temperature can increase over the threshold temperature, fire or explosion accidents...

Inhibiting uneven dendritic Li electroplating is crucial for the safe and stable cycling of Li metal batteries (LMBs). Homogeneous and fast Li⁺ transport towards the Li surface is required for uniform and dendrite‐free deposition. However, the traditional ionic transport of static liquid electrolytes involving electromigration and molecular diffusi...

Developing uniform ceramic-coated separators in high-energy Li secondary batteries has been a challenging task because aqueous ceramic coating slurries have poor dispersion stability and coating quality on the hydrophobic surfaces of polyolefin separators. In this study, we develop a simple but effective strategy for improving the dispersion stabil...

The heat management of lithium-ion cells under ceaseless high-current operation plays a pivotal role in preventing an internal short-circuit, which is generally caused by separator meltdown at high temperatures and rapid cell deterioration. However, the simple specification sheets provided by battery manufacturers do not provide explanations nor su...

We developed a thermo-electrochemical model of a 50 Ah pouch-type lithium-ion cell and utilized a cell model to build an 18.5 V/50 Ah module to analyze the thermal behavior under various operating conditions and design cooling systems for optimal operating temperature ranges. Specifically, the heat generated by electrochemical reactions was simulat...

The internal short circuit caused by the Li dendrite is well known to be a major cause for fire or explosion accidents involving state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, post-mortem analysis cannot identify the most probable cause, which is initially embedded in the cell, because the original structure of the cell totally collapses a...

Development of practical lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs) remains challenging despite promises of Li metal anodes (LMAs), owing to Li dendrite formation and highly reactive surface nature. Polyolefin separators used in LMBs may undergo severe mechanical and chemical deterioration when contacting with LMAs. To identify the best polyolefin separat...

Electrodes supported by conductive binders are expected to outperform ones with inert binders that potentially disturb electronic/ionic contacts at interfaces. Unlike electron-conductive binders, the employment of Li⁺-conductive binders has attracted relatively little attention due to the liquid electrolyte (LE)-impregnated electrode configuration...

The diffusion coefficient and exchange current density are the two dominant parameters that determine the electrochemical characteristics of the electrochemical battery model. Nevertheless, both parameter values are generally adopted from well-known literature or experimental data measured under limited conditions and are sometimes overfitted to ma...

Electrode alignment is one of design parameters that must be carefully controlled for reliable full cells with limited lithium ion inventory. Especially because punched disk-type cathodes and anodes are movable during assembling coin-type cells, the misalignment of electrodes cannot be completely prevented. This misalignment is not only mixed with...

To realize high-performance all-solid-state batteries, an efficient design for all-solid-state electrodes is vital. Composite electrode, which is comprised of well-mixed active material and solid electrolyte, is a typical structure to build well-percolated ionic pathways within the electrode. In contrast, diffusion-dependent electrode, which consis...

The ceramic coating layer (CCL) on a polyolefin separator plays a pivotal role in securing the safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) by suppressing the thermal shrinkage of the separator even under abnormal circumstances. However, an additional CCL inevitably leads to energy density loss and electrochemical performance degradation. To mitigate the...

The microblade cutting method, so-called SAICAS, is widely used to quantify the adhesion of battery composite electrodes at different depths. However, as the electrode thickness or loading increases, the reliability of adhesion values measured by the conventional method is being called into question more frequently. Thus, herein, a few underestimat...

Electrode design, which is closely related to electronic and ionic transport, is an essential factor that influences the performance of all-solid-state batteries. An in-depth understanding of the movement of the charge carriers and its relationship to the electrode structure are urgently needed for the realization of advanced energy storage devices...

The use of surface-patterned lithium (Li) metal has been proposed as a promising strategy for inhibiting the formation of Li dendrites during repeated Li plating/stripping processes. Nevertheless, the conventional Li metal patterning process is complex, expensive, incompatible with mass production, and incapable of producing finely controlled patte...

To lower the carbon emission from the rising consumption of fossil fuels, electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and batteries, which can produce or store electricity from renewable resources, are attracting attention. Both systems require an electronically insulating solid membrane, which separates the cathode and anode to prevent short-circui...

The formation and growth of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) are key parameters governing battery life prediction models of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs). However, as conventional battery life prediction models do not reflect other degradation parameters such as crack formation and propagation in high-nickel cathode materials, their accuracy is gr...

All-solid-state lithium batteries require a well-designed electrode structure to efficiently charge and discharge active materials. Mimicking electrodes impregnated with liquid electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries, composite-type all-solid-state electrodes have been widely utilized. An alternative electrode configuration is the diffusion-dependent...

In article number 2003769, Myung‐Hyun Ryou, Hongkyung Lee, Yong Min Lee, and co‐workers report a LiNO3 pre‐planted lithium metal powder (LN‐LMP) electrode, practically designed for ultra‐thin and wide electrode fabrication. The pre‐planted LiNO3 allows not only chemically induced uniform nitration of the LMP surface but also steady release into the...

Making Li metal batteries (LMBs) with thinner Li is necessary to improve the cell energy density in practice. Li metal powders (LMPs) are beneficial for the facile manufacturing of thin Li, flexible cell design, and the 3D control of Li plating/stripping. However, the inhomogeneous surfaces of commercial LMPs limit their practical use in LMBs. Here...

Lithium ion conducting polymer electrolytes with broad electrochemical stability, good mechanical strength, high thermal stability, and easy processability are necessary for all-solid-state and shape-variant lithium secondary batteries. Hybrid gel polymer electrolytes incorporating an ionic liquid have been attracting attention for application in s...

The use of lithium metal in secondary batteries has been impeded by its tendency to form dendrites: branching conductive structures of metal that can lead to capacity loss and, ultimately, internal shorts in the battery. Patterned electrodes, in addition to artificially increasing the current density of cells by increasing the surface area availabl...

Organic-inorganic hybrid solid electrolytes (HSEs) are expected to overcome the inherent limitations of rigid fragile inorganic electrolytes for solid state batteries. Li-ion conductive filler such as garnet Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is proposed for the high performance of HSEs, unfortunately, which suffers from native surface layer resistance to Li-ion...

Solid oxides are attractive electrolyte materials for all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) owing to their high stability and pure Li-ion conductivity. Nevertheless, the electrochemical performance of ASSLBs employing solid oxide-based electrolytes cannot compete with ASSLBs with sulfide or polymeric electrolytes due to poor interfacial contac...

Tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films are of critical importance in electrochromic devices as positive electrodes. However, the effect of electrolyte properties on the electrochromic properties of these films is not well ascertained. Herein, we demonstrate the effect of various LiClO4 salt concentrations in propylene carbonate (PC) on the switching speed...

Promising electrode active materials such as LiNiMnCoO 2 , LiNiCoAlO 2 and LiFePO 4 is made by a secondary particle containing millions of primary particles to improve its conductivity and diffusion. Therefore, design and analysis of the secondary particle are most important things to improve the performance of the active material so some groups ar...

Due to the highest theoretical capacity, the Li metal anode is considered to be the most ideal anode materials for large-scale batteries, if the problems related to Li dendrite growth can be overcome. Obviously, as most people know well, enlarging the surface area of the Li metal has quite an influence on lower the effective current density to supp...

Short cycle life of the lithium metal secondary battery (LMSB) is largely ascribed to the dendritic growth of lithium metal during the charging process followed by continuous electrolyte decomposition. To make up for this intrinsic drawback of lithium metal, two pioneering techniques, micropatterning on lithium metal and three dimensionally ordered...

All-solid-state lithium-ion battery (ASLB) is one of the battery systems to have the most outstanding safety and energy density. In particular, the ASLB with solid sulfide electrolyte has been evaluated as a promising next-generation secondary battery thanks to solid sulfide electrolyte’s high intrinsic ionic conductivity and deformation property....

Conventional polyolefin separators undergo thermal shrinkage under abnormal conditions such as overcharging and overheating, and this may induce catastrophic thermal runaway in LIBs, resulting in gas venting, fire, rupture, or explosion. Ceramic-coated separators (CCSs) have been widely used because inorganic materials with high heat resistance pro...

Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) has attracted much attention to apply to a variety of application or device systems having different operating systems such as current rates (C-rates), temperatures, and depth-of-discharge (DOD). Therefore, it is important to predict the capacity retention of LIB under different operating conditions. In order to predict...

The worldwide energy crisis has drawn the attention of researchers to energy saving, energy-storing, and energy converting devices. Among them, electrochromic devices (ECDs) are being extensively studied to reduce energy consumption. Electrochromism refers to the persistent and reversible change of optical properties by an applied voltage pulse. El...

Long charging time is one of major inconveniences in choosing electric vehicles (EVs). In order to solve it, shortening the charging time within fifteen minutes or less is set to satisfy EV customers. However, without deep understanding both electronic and ionic behaviors within the battery, to analyze and predict the physical and electrochemical b...

In order to improve the energy density of the lithium ion battery, the loading level of the electrode is continuously increasing. As a result, the presence of inactive materials such as conductive materials / binders in the electrodes is also highlighted. In particular, securing the mechanical properties of the electrode according to the distributi...

To inhibit Li-dendrite growth on lithium (Li)-metal electrodes, which causes capacity deterioration and safety issues in Li-ion batteries, we prepared a porous polyimide (PI) sponge using a solution-processable high internal-phase emulsion technique with a water-soluble PI precursor solution; the process is not only simple but also environmentally...

Thin carbon interlayer contributes to the easier Li nucleation, and homogeneous Li distribution. • The carbon interlayer can be enhanced the adhesive strength and prevent galvanic corrosion. • We succeed in quantifying the adhesive strength at the interface for the first time using a SAICAS.: Lithium metal powder Carbon interlayer Thin lithium meta...

The mechanical robustness of highly loaded composite electrodes is important for ensuring the long-term reliability of high-energy-density secondary batteries. Considering that in real state, the electrodes in bat- teries are completely impregnated with electrolyte, the swelling of the polymeric binder must be carefully observed and controlled to m...

In article number 2001563 Yoon Seok Jung, Yong Min Lee and co‐workers build a highly sophisticated digital twin‐driven all‐solid‐state battery with a solid sulfide electrolyte. Digital twindriven batteries, which are stacked by digital voxels and modeled with mathematic equations for multi‐physics, are utilized as a key platform for designing elect...

In all-solid-state batteries, the electrode has been generally fabricated as a composite of active material and solid electrolyte to imitate the electrode of lithium-ion batteries employing liquid electrolytes. Therefore, an efficient protocol to spatially arrange the two components with a scalable method is critical for high-performance all-solid-...

Effects of soluble polyimide (PI) binders on large-sized Li anodes (width = 21.5 cm; thickness = 40 μm) prepared using Li-metal powder (LiMP) have been investigated. PI binders form a uniform protective layer on exposed Li-powder-coated surfaces, thereby resulting in formation of scaffold-structured LiMP-based anodes. Uniform PI surface films favor...

Power measurement has become as important as capacity to ensure stable operating conditions for batteries at different temperatures, states of charge (SOCs), and states of health (SOHs). Unlike capacity, the power of a lithium-ion battery (LIB) is quite sensitive to temperature. However, there have been few systematic works on the measurement of po...

The high-rate half-cell performance of LiNi0.3Co0.3Mn0.3O2 (NCM333), LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 (NCM622), and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) cathode materials is investigated with the base electrolyte of LiPF6/ethylene carbonate (EC):ethylmethyl carbonate (EMC) and the additives of vinylene carbonate (VC) and 1,3-propane sultone (PS). The effects of these a...

The digital twin technique has been broadly utilized to efficiently and effectively predict the performance and problems associated with real objects via a virtual replica. However, the digitalization of twin electrochemical systems has not been achieved thus far, owing to the large amount of required calculations of numerous and complex differenti...

To enhance delamination limitations in silicon electrode, a thin-film interlayer between silicon electrode and copper current collector is designed using a chemo-mechanical degradation model. The chemo-mechanical degradation model considers the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase on the surface and within the cracks of the silicon electro...

Fabric-based wearable electronics are becoming more important in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) era due to their connectivity, wearability, comfort, and durability. Conventional fabric-based wearable electronics have been demonstrated by several researchers, but still need complex methods or additional supports to be fabricated and sewed in...

Despite their high theoretical energy density and low cost, lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) suffer from poor cycle life and low energy efficiency owing to the polysulfides shuttle and the electronic insulating nature of sulfur. Conductivity and polarity are two critical parameters for the search of optimal sulfur host materials. However, their role...

Recent progress and perspectives of structure‐controlled lithium metal electrodes are reviewed in article number 1902113 by Myung‐Hyun Ryou, Yong Min Lee, and co‐workers. The cover image schematically depicts the three major strategies to lower the effective current density of lithium metal anode: 3D frameworks, lithium metal powder, and micro‐patt...

Short cycle life of lithium metal secondary battery (LMSB) is largely ascribed to the dendritic growth of lithium metal during charging process followed by continuous electrolyte decomposition. To make up for this intrinsic drawback of lithium metal, two pioneering techniques, micro-patterning on lithium metal and three dimensionally ordered microp...