To some extent, partial discharge of a cell increases the rate of passivation. As a cell is discharged, the anode surface becomes rough and pitted. It is generally accepted that the increase in the rate of passivation observed in partially discharged cells is due to this change in lithium surface. Although the apparent common surface area between the electrodes does not change, the actual surface area increases due to the rough surface.
Increasing the surface area available for the reaction between the lithium and thionyl chloride electrolyte increases the amount of LiCl formed over the apparent surface. As a result, there is an effective increase in the rate of passivation.
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