Scanning electrochemical microscopy of Li-ion batteries

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are receiving increasing attention over the past decade due to their high energy density. This energy storage technology is expected to continue improving the performance, especially for its large-scale deployment in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and full electric vehicles (EVs). Such improvement requires having a large variety of analytical techniques at scientists' disposal in order to understand and address the multiple mechanisms and processes occurring simultaneously in this complex system. This perspective article aims to highlight the strength and potential of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) in this field. After a brief description of a LIB system and the most commonly used techniques in this field, the unique information provided by SECM is illustrated by discussing several recent examples from the literature.