Unvailing charge storage and degradation mechanisms of electrochemical energy storage systems via ex-situ and in-situ analyses

In recent decades, a wealth of new electrochemical energy storage systems have emerged as well as a variety of novel and advanced materials for conventional systems. Once new systems and materials are introduced, they are often challenged by performance degradation such as capacity loss and the increase in cell resistance. Since degradation processes could also raise safety issues such as gas evolution and short-circuiting events, understanding charge storage and degradation mechanisms plays a crucial role in further development. In this work, some of the progress on unvailing charge storage and degradation mechanisms for various electrochemical energy storage systems will be presented. In particular, relying on ex-situ and in-situ technologies, X-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy, neutron radiography, degradation processes of advanced electrode materials such as layered nickel-rich cathodes [1-3] and MXene [4] in lithium-ion batteries will be discussed. Additionally, some of the critical limitations of in-situ technologies, such as the radiolysis process in transmission electron microscopy, will be introduced, including the simulation work based on the reaction-diffusion model. [5, 6] Finally, we introduce our recent work on understanding the charge storage mechanism of membrane-free alkali metal-iodide (A-AI) batteries relying on ex-situ neutron radiography.
Acknowledgement:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No 963599.

References:

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