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Updated: May 11, 2025
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Elemental-sensitive Detection of the Chemistry in Batteries through Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering
Published on: April 17, 2018
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Operando Measurement of Transition Metal Deposition in a NMC Li-Ion Battery Using Laboratory Confocal Micro-X-ray
Ioanna Mantouvalou1,2, Lena Mathies3, Katja Frenzel3
1Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 12489, Berlin, Germany.
Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|April 18, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a non-destructive method for analyzing battery interfaces during operation. It enables quantitative elemental analysis of lithium-ion battery components, crucial for improving battery development.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
Background:
- Battery degradation is often linked to interface changes and depositions.
- Operando investigations are crucial but lack depth-resolved elemental analysis of full cells.
- Understanding interface chemistry is key to advancing battery technology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a non-destructive, spatially resolved method for elemental analysis of battery interfaces during operation.
- To enable quantitative analysis of lithium-ion battery components under cycling conditions.
- To provide insights into degradation mechanisms at battery interfaces.
Main Methods:
- Laboratory confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) spectroscopy.
- Operando analysis of a lithium-ion battery coin cell over 10,600 cycles.
- Depth-resolved elemental mapping of battery components.
Main Results:
- Successfully differentiated between the nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide (NMC) cathode and depositions in underlying layers.
- Achieved spatially resolved, quantitative elemental analysis of battery interfaces without altering the cell structure.
- Demonstrated the capability to detect trace elements (Mn, Ni, Co) in different battery layers.
Conclusions:
- Confocal μ-XRF provides unprecedented non-destructive, quantitative elemental insights into battery interfaces during operation.
- This technique is essential for understanding degradation mechanisms and enabling targeted battery development.
- The ability to perform quantitative analysis is a prerequisite for determining transport and conversion rates, accelerating battery innovation.
