context: The study of the voltage traces follows the methodology introduced in previous studies, to observe the characteristic peaking behaviour that originates from pitting of the stripping electrode. Previous reports have assigned the typical voltage profile to specific deposition and pitting processes: when plating Li, there is initially a large overpotential associated with the nucleation of Li deposits, which then decreases rapidly towards a local minimum due to an increased surface area for deposition. When switching polarity after the first deposition, the microstructures formed previously in the first half cycle are oxidised and removed from the stripping electrode. When all of the microstructures have been dissolved completely (or been detached from the electrode surface forming ‘dead Li’) the overpotential increases rapidly. A peak is seen as the overpotential drops again, labelled “pitting” in Fig. 4a, as this behaviour has been assigned to the onset of bulk metal dissolution or pitting of the Li metal surface and an increase in surface area. When comparing different electrolytes, a more pronounced peaking behaviour has been associated with substantial impedance differences and spatial variations in the SEI layers that lead to non-uniform stripping and the formation of dead Li.