Research Digest — 2026-07-13¶
Solid Electrolytes: Dendrite & Fracture Mechanics¶
1. Soft lithium dendrites crack hard ceramic electrolytes via hydrostatic stress-driven brittle fracture¶
Source: Nature (ScienceDaily coverage, July 2026) · 📅 2026-07-10 · ↗ Open paper
An interdisciplinary team at Max Planck Institute for Sustainable Materials (MPI-SusMat) identified the mechanism by which soft Li dendrites penetrate stiff ceramic solid electrolytes. Using cryogenic vacuum characterization and phase field simulations, they showed that hydrostatic stress within dendrites causes brittle fracture of the ceramic — analogous to a continuous waterjet cutting rock — rather than electronic leakage along grain boundaries. This resolves a long-standing debate in the field and points toward strategies like compositional grading to delay fracture.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Directly relevant to Shoutong Jin's phase field simulation work on dendrite growth. The hydrostatic stress-driven fracture mechanism should inform his chemo-electro-mechanical models. Also relevant to Cheng Peng's grain boundary studies — the paper explicitly rules out the grain boundary electronic leakage hypothesis.
2. Recent advances and remaining challenges of solid-state electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium batteries¶
Source: Current Opinion in Solid State and Materials Science (S0079642525001379) · 📅 2026-07-01 · ↗ Open paper
Comprehensive review systematically analyzing advancements in solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) for all-solid-state lithium batteries. Covers oxide, sulfide, and halide SSE families, with focus on bridging lab-scale performance and commercial requirements. Discusses interface engineering, scalability, and remaining bottlenecks in cycle life and rate capability.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Useful reference for the whole group. Provides a current landscape view of SSE materials and identifies open problems that align with the group's research themes.
3. 2026 roadmap on next-generation solid electrolytes for battery applications¶
Source: Materials Futures (10.1088/2752-5724/ae5120) · 📅 2026-06-15 · ↗ Open paper
A community roadmap article outlining new directions for solid electrolyte research over the next decade. Covers emerging chemistries, manufacturing challenges, and computational approaches. Includes perspectives on polymer, halide, sulfide, and composite electrolyte systems.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Important strategic reference for Jerry's tenure-track research planning and proposal writing. Helps position the group's work within the broader community priorities.
ML Interatomic Potentials for Battery Materials¶
4. Machine learning interatomic potential enables interface-level insights into cathode/solid electrolyte adhesion in sodium-ion batteries¶
Source: Journal of Energy Chemistry (S2352152X26007681) · 📅 2026-06-20 · ↗ Open paper
Demonstrates an ML interatomic potential applied to study adhesion at the cathode/solid electrolyte interface in sodium-ion batteries. The MLIP captures interface-level phenomena at DFT accuracy with MD-scale simulation cells, enabling quantitative prediction of interfacial binding and debonding mechanisms.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Highly relevant to Yanhao Deng's ML potential work and Umang Agarwal's heterogeneous interface studies. The Na-ion focus offers a useful cross-reference framework — methodology is directly transferable to Li systems.
5. Machine-learning interatomic potentials for interfaces in all-solid-state batteries¶
Source: OSTI / DOE technical report (3024472) · 📅 2026-06-01 · ↗ Open paper
Reviews the development and application of MLIPs for simulating interfaces in all-solid-state batteries. Discusses training data strategies, transferability across chemistries, and key interface phenomena including interdiffusion, space charge layers, and mechanical degradation that MLIPs can capture.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Core relevance to Yanhao Deng and Umang Agarwal. Provides a methodological framework for MLIP-based interface simulations that directly maps to their projects on solid electrolyte/electrode systems.
6. Machine learning pipelines for the design of solid-state electrolytes¶
Source: Materials Horizons (d5mh01525a, 2026) · 📅 2026-06-10 · ↗ Open paper
Comprehensive survey of ML pipelines for solid electrolyte discovery, covering data resources, feature engineering, classical models, and deep learning architectures. Discusses how ML accelerates screening of new SSE compositions and predicts ionic conductivity, stability, and mechanical properties.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Valuable for Yanhao Deng's ML potential development and for proposal writing. Offers a systematic overview of where ML can accelerate materials discovery in the SSE space.
7. Experimental Validation of Universal Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials for Materials Screening¶
Source: ChemRxiv preprint (15002480) · 📅 2026-06-25 · ↗ Open paper
Validates universal MLIPs (uMLIPs) against experimental data for large-scale materials screening. Shows that uMLIPs can predict formation energies, elastic properties, and phase stability with useful accuracy, though domain-specific fine-tuning remains important for battery-relevant chemistries.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Relevant to Yanhao Deng's work — uMLIPs could reduce training data requirements for his solid electrolyte models. The experimental validation aspect is important for justifying computational predictions in publications.
8. Reactive Machine Learning Interatomic Potentials for Chemistry and Materials Science¶
Source: Chemical Reviews (acs.chemrev.5c00728, 2026) · 📅 2026-05-20 · ↗ Open paper
Comprehensive Chemical Reviews article covering reactive MLIPs — potentials capable of describing bond breaking and formation. Covers architectures (NEP, MACE, Allegro, etc.), training strategies, and applications including SEI formation, electrolyte decomposition, and interface reactivity.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Essential reference for Yanhao Deng's methodology development. Reactive MLIPs are critical for modeling decomposition and interphase formation at battery interfaces, which is central to the group's interface and electrolyte degradation studies.
Solid-State Battery Interfaces¶
9. Modeling and simulation approaches for solid-state battery interfaces¶
Source: Dalton Transactions (d5dt02804c, 2026) · 📅 2026-06-15 · ↗ Open paper
Reviews atomic-scale modeling approaches for interface-controlled phenomena in solid-state batteries, with focus on LiPON–Li metal interfaces. Covers DFT, AIMD, and MLIP methods for studying interfacial stability, ion transport, and space charge effects.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Directly relevant to Umang Agarwal's heterogeneous interface project and provides a methodological reference for the group's interface simulation toolkit.
10. Recent Advances in Solid-State Batteries (JACS perspective)¶
Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society (jacs.5c06058, 2026) · 📅 2026-06-01 · ↗ Open paper
A JACS perspective covering advances in both lithium- and sodium-based solid electrolytes. Discusses remaining challenges in achieving long cycle lifetimes and high power density, including interface engineering, mechanical degradation, and processing scalability.
Relevance to DENG.Group
High-impact perspective useful for framing the group's research narrative in papers and proposals. Covers both Li and Na systems relevant to the group's scope.
Halide Electrolytes¶
11. From powder to product: a perspective on halide electrolytes for commercial lithium solid-state batteries¶
Source: Tungsten (s42864-026-00378-9, 2026) · 📅 2026-07-01 · ↗ Open paper
Examines halide solid electrolytes from a commercialization perspective, covering structure–property relationships across trigonal, spinel, and oxyhalide frameworks. Discusses aliovalent doping, mixed-anion strategies, Earth-abundant chemistries, scalable synthesis (mechanochemical milling to melt processing), and integration into composite electrodes and full-cell architectures. Provides a comparative analysis with sulfide and oxide systems and a roadmap for halide-based SSB development.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Highly relevant to Yan Li and Mengke Li's halide electrolyte research. The structure–property relationships and processing trade-offs directly inform their simulation work on ion transport and degradation in halide systems.
12. Research Progress on Halide Solid-State Electrolytes: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications¶
Source: Carbon Energy (cey2.70170, 2026) · 📅 2026-06-15 · ↗ Open paper
Comprehensive review of halide solid-state electrolytes covering synthesis methods, ionic conductivity benchmarks, and electrochemical performance. Discusses moisture sensitivity, interphase formation, and long-term chemical stability challenges.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Key reference for Yan Li and Mengke Li. The moisture sensitivity and interphase formation topics connect directly to their simulation studies on halide electrolyte degradation mechanisms.
13. Redox-active halide solid electrolytes for stable high-energy all-solid-state batteries¶
Source: Berkeley Lab / LBNL patent disclosure (2026-027) · 📅 2026-02-09 · ↗ Open paper
Berkeley Lab researchers developed a class of redox-active halide solid electrolytes that utilize reversible redox activity to improve cycling stability. The approach addresses interfacial degradation by incorporating redox-active elements that buffer volume changes during cycling.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Interesting for Yan Li and Mengke Li — the redox-active concept could inspire new simulation studies on how redox mechanisms affect ion transport and interfacial stability in halide systems.
Phase Field & Dendrite Simulation¶
14. Chemo-electro-mechanical phase-field simulation of interfacial Li dendrite growth¶
Source: Nature Communications (s43246-024-00600-6) · 📅 2026-01-15 · ↗ Open paper
A chemo-electro-mechanical phase field model that reveals how interfacial electronic properties dominate Li dendrite morphology and penetration. The model quantitatively predicts whether dendrites grow along grain boundaries or through bulk electrolyte depending on local electronic/ionic conductivity ratios.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Directly relevant to Shoutong Jin's phase field dendrite work. The coupled chemo-electro-mechanical framework provides a methodological template for his simulations, and the morphology predictions can be validated against his results.
15. Effects of Key Factors on Lithium Dendrite Dissolution and Dead Lithium Formation (Phase Field Study)¶
Source: Batteries (MDPI) 11(11), 413 (2026) · 📅 2026-06-20 · ↗ Open paper
Uses a phase-field model under constant-current discharge conditions to simulate lithium dendrite dissolution and dead lithium formation. Systematically examines the effects of current density, electrolyte concentration, and exchange current density on dissolution dynamics.
Relevance to DENG.Group
Relevant to Shoutong Jin — the dissolution and dead lithium aspects complement the growth-focused models and provide a more complete picture of dendrite lifecycle in solid electrolytes.