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Updated: Jun 3, 2026
Characterization of Electrode Materials for Lithium Ion and Sodium Ion Batteries Using Synchrotron Radiation Techniques
Published on: November 11, 2013
Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and X-ray absorption spectroscopy on the negative electrode material
H M Hollmark1, K Maher, I Saadoune
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-751 20, Uppsala, Sweden. hakan.hollmark@physics.uu.se
Abstract:
We have studied the first lithiation/delithiation cycle of the Li-ion battery electrode material Li(x)Ni(0.25)TiOPO(4) applying X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS). A set of ten identical Li(x)Ni(0.25)TiOPO(4) battery electrodes have been cycled and left in different states of charge in the range of x = 0.5 … 2.5, before disassembly in an Ar filled glove box. We find that Ni-, Ti-, and O-ions are affected simultaneously, rather than sequentially, upon lithiation of the material. In particular, Ni is reduced from Ni(2+) to Ni(0) but only partially re-oxidized to Ni(1+), again, by delithiation. Overall, there is considerable "crosstalk" between the different atomic species and non-linearity in the response of the electronic structure during the lithiation/delithiation process. Fortuitously, the background variation in Ni L-XAS shows to contain valuable information about solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) creation, showing that the SEI is a function of the degree of lithiation.
