Li metal has been considered an ideal anode in lithium batteries due to its high theoretical capacity of 3860 mAh·g⁻¹ and lowest negative reduction potential of −3.040 V among the standard hydrogen electrodes. However, lithium dendrites can easily grow on the surface of the negative electrode during charging, which results in a short circuit of the battery and reduces its efficiency. This paper investigated dendrite growth and inhibition mechanisms in lithium metal batteries to improve battery life. The impacts of the initial nucleation spacing, surface energy anisotropy strength, and interfacial electrochemical driving force on lithium dendrite growth were analyzed with electrochemical experiments and mathematical models. The results showed that the smaller nucleation spacing inhibits the growth of dendrite side branches and reduces the roughness of lithium metal deposition on the negative electrode. A lower interfacial energy anisotropy strength can slow down the growth of dendrite tips and improve the dendrite growth structure. The growth of the dendrites is influenced by the interfacial electrochemical driving force. Reducing the nucleation overpotential can effectively inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites.

A TiB₂ wettable cathode coating was deposited on a graphite carbon cathode material via atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The microstructure and phase composition of the TiB₂ coating were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The wettability and corrosion resistance of the coating were studied in a molten-aluminum electrolytic system. The results showed that the surface of the TiB₂ coating prepared via plasma spraying was flat and that the main phase of the coating was TiB₂. The wettability between the TiB₂ coating and liquid aluminum was better than that between graphite cathode carbon block and liquid aluminum. The abilities of the TiB₂ coating and graphite cathode carbon block to resist sodium (Na) penetration and prevent molten salt corrosion were compared through a corrosion test. The TiB₂ coating was found to have better resistance to Na penetration and better refractory cryolite corrosion resistance than graphite cathode carbon block.

A study of boron impurities deposited on a Si(100) surface in a SiHCl₃-BCl₃-H₂ system is reported in this paper, using periodic density functional theory with generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The results show that the discrete distances of BCl₃ and SiHCl₃ from the surface of the Si(100) unit cell are 1.873 Å and 2.340 Å, respectively, and the separation energies are −35.2549 kcal/mol and −10.64 kcal/mol, respectively. BCl₃ and SiHCl₃ are mainly adsorbed on the surface of the Si(100) unit cell in particular molecular orientations: the positive position and the hydrogen bottom-two-front position from the analysis of the bond length change and adsorption energy. The adsorption of SiHCl₃ and BCl₃ is accompanied by a charge transfer from the molecule to the surface of the unit cell of 0.24 and 0.29 eV, respectively. BCl₃ reacts more readily than SiHCl₃ with the Si(100) surface, resulting in the deposition of boron impurities on the polysilicon surface.