Visualizing the chemistry and structure dynamics in lithium-ion batteries by in-situ neutron diffraction

Journal Article · Fri Oct 19 04:00:00 EDT 2012 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep00747· OSTI ID:1055190

Wang, Xun-Li; An, Ke; Cai, Lu; Feng, Zhili; Nagler, Stephen E.; Daniel, Claus; Rhodes, Kevin J.; Stoica, Alexandru D.; Skorpenske, Harley D.; Liang, Chengdu; Zhang, Wei; Kim, Joon; Qi, Yue; Harris, Stephen J.

We report an in-situ neutron diffraction study of a large format pouch battery cell. The succession of Li-Graphite intercalation phases was fully captured under an 1C charge-discharge condition (i.e., charge to full capacity in 1 hour). However, the lithiation and dilithiation pathways are distinctively different and, unlike in slowing charging experiments with which the Li-Graphite phase diagram was established, no LiC24 phase was found during charge at 1C rate. Approximately 75 mol. % of the graphite converts to LiC6 at full charge, and a lattice dilation as large as 4% was observed during a charge-discharge cycle. Our work demonstrates the potential of in-situ, time and spatially resolved neutron diffraction study of the dynamic chemical and structural changes in “real-world” batteries under realistic cycling conditions, which should provide microscopic insights on degradation and the important role of diffusion kinetics in energy storage materials.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Spallation Neutron Source
• Sponsoring Organization: ORNL LDRD Seed-Money
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1055190
• Journal Information: Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Vol. 2; ISSN 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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25 ENERGY STORAGE