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Most next-generation Li-ion battery chemistries require a functioning lithiummetal (Li) anode. However, its application in secondary batteries has beeninhibited because of uncontrollable dendrite growth during cycling. Mechanicalsuppression of dendrite growth through solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) orthrough robust separators has shown the most potential for alleviating thisproblem. Studies of the mechanical behavior of Li at any length scale andtemperature are virtually non-existent because of its extreme reactivity, whichrenders sample preparation, transfer, microstructure characterization andmechanical testing prohibitively challenging. We conduct nano-mechanicalexperiments in an in-situ Scanning Electron Microscope and show thatmicron-sized Li attains extremely high strengths of 105 MPa at room temperatureand of 35MPa at 90$^\circ$C. We demonstrate that single crystalline Li exhibitsa power-law size-effect at the micron- and sub-micron length scales, with thestrengthening exponent of -0.68 at room temperature and of -1.00 at90$^\circ$C. We also report the elastic and shear moduli as a function ofcrystallographic orientation gleaned from experiments and first principlescalculations, which show a high level of anisotropy up to the melting point,where the elastic and shear moduli vary by a factor of ~4 between the stiffestand most compliant orientations. The emergence of such high strengths insmall-scale Li and sensitivity of this metal's stiffness to crystallographicorientation help explain why the existing methods of dendrite suppression havebeen mainly unsuccessful and have significant implications for practical designof future-generation batteries.

Enhanced strength and temperature dependence of mechanical properties of Li at small length scales and its implications for Li metal anodes