Failure cascades in lithium metal foil anodes: A cascade framework with contrast cases in transformation-dominant tin and aluminum

초록

Lithium (Li) metal foil anodes offer a direct route to higher cell-level energy density, yet their degradation is governed by coupled interfacial, transport, and mechanical processes. This review proposes a four-stage failure-cascade framework that traces the progression from local interfacial heterogeneity to irreversible damage and eventual continuity loss. The dominant forcing regime is treated as a principal boundary condition, while phase-transformation-dominant metallic foils serve as mechanistic contrast cases. In Stage I, interphase heterogeneity, nucleation selectivity, and rupture–regrowth processes establish spatial bias. Stage II amplifies this bias through current focusing, transport stress, and persistent pathway selection, whereas Stage III renders it irreversible through non-uniform stripping, void formation, contact loss, and inactive Li accumulation. Stage IV is reached when electronic, ionic, or mechanical continuity can no longer be maintained. Liquid-electrolyte Li metal provides the primary evidential basis, while quasi-solid-state and all-solid-state configurations are examined separately because differences in interfacial compliance, contact loss, stress transfer, and crack-assisted penetration alter cascade routing. Although presented sequentially, the stages may overlap, feed back into one another, or become compressed depending on electrolyte boundary condition and forcing regime. By integrating cycling signatures and structural evidence, the framework enables stage-specific failure attribution. © 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

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