On the role of crack electrolyte wetting in the degradation and performance of battery active particles

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Autori principali: Luza-Vega, S., Zhao, Y., Martínez-Pañeda, E.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2026
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author Luza-Vega, S.
Zhao, Y.
Martínez-Pañeda, E.
author_facet Luza-Vega, S.
Zhao, Y.
Martínez-Pañeda, E.
contents Cathode particle fracture is widely recognised as a major degradation mechanism in lithium-ion batteries, yet cracking also permits electrolyte wetting of newly exposed internal surfaces, modifying interfacial reaction pathways. The mechanistic role of electrolyte wetting in redistributing reactions within cracked particles remains unclear. Here, we isolate this effect through a controlled comparison between (i) a fully coupled electro-chemo-mechanical model resolving lithium concentration, electrostatic potential, and stress fields in both the active material and the electrolyte inside and outside cracks, and (ii) a single-particle chemo-mechanical model employing the conventional uniform flux assumption. The coupled model predicts strong spatial heterogeneity in interfacial reaction rates, with flux amplification approximately 8x relative to the imposed uniform flux at the crack tip. Reaction redistribution, and thus lithium flux, is governed predominantly by local solid-state lithium concentration and stress variations, while electrolyte potential gradients inside cracks remain secondary under the conditions considered. Uniform flux models can underpredict delivered capacity by 25% at 1C-rate; this discrepancy increases at higher rates. They also underestimate tensile stresses throughout the delithiation process by 10%, directly affecting crack driving conditions. These results demonstrate that neglecting crack-electrolyte coupling leads to systematic underestimation of both utilisation limits and fatigue-relevant stress histories.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_01806
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the role of crack electrolyte wetting in the degradation and performance of battery active particles
Luza-Vega, S.
Zhao, Y.
Martínez-Pañeda, E.
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Chemical Physics
Cathode particle fracture is widely recognised as a major degradation mechanism in lithium-ion batteries, yet cracking also permits electrolyte wetting of newly exposed internal surfaces, modifying interfacial reaction pathways. The mechanistic role of electrolyte wetting in redistributing reactions within cracked particles remains unclear. Here, we isolate this effect through a controlled comparison between (i) a fully coupled electro-chemo-mechanical model resolving lithium concentration, electrostatic potential, and stress fields in both the active material and the electrolyte inside and outside cracks, and (ii) a single-particle chemo-mechanical model employing the conventional uniform flux assumption. The coupled model predicts strong spatial heterogeneity in interfacial reaction rates, with flux amplification approximately 8x relative to the imposed uniform flux at the crack tip. Reaction redistribution, and thus lithium flux, is governed predominantly by local solid-state lithium concentration and stress variations, while electrolyte potential gradients inside cracks remain secondary under the conditions considered. Uniform flux models can underpredict delivered capacity by 25% at 1C-rate; this discrepancy increases at higher rates. They also underestimate tensile stresses throughout the delithiation process by 10%, directly affecting crack driving conditions. These results demonstrate that neglecting crack-electrolyte coupling leads to systematic underestimation of both utilisation limits and fatigue-relevant stress histories.
title On the role of crack electrolyte wetting in the degradation and performance of battery active particles
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Materials Science
Applied Physics
Chemical Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.01806