HZB paper appears in special anniversary edition of the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics
One example from the paper: operando radiography (A)- (C) shows how sulphur compounds (black features) are deposited on the carbon cathode (gray) of a lithium-sulphur cell during charging and discharging. © HZB
A paper on X-ray tomography of various types of batteries has been published as a highlight in the exclusive special edition of the Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. Two groups at the HZB along with a team from Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, contributed to the article.
“We selected this article for inclusion because of its novelty, scientific impact, and broadness of appeal”, writes Executive Editor Tom Miller. The work has now been additionally published in a special issue (Synchrotron- and FEL-based X-ray Methods for Battery Studies) celebrating the journal’s 50-year history. The contribution really demonstrates that X-ray tomography is applicable in many ways and promises a substantial leap in knowledge for research on various types of batteries.
X-ray computer tomography combines X-ray images with three-dimensional methods of representation. It shows what processes within the interior of materials take place. Transport processes and chemical reactions in novel battery systems can be investigated in this way. These processes have been insufficiently understood thus far, which is why it is difficult to achieve specific improvements.
The researchers not only present in the article the utility of X-ray tomography for research on batteries in general, they also present numerous concrete examples illustrating the power of tomographic representation. These examples include zinc-air batteries, sodium-air batteries, and metal-sulphur batteries. They show what processes limit the storage capacity of each battery type and why performance falls with the number of charging cycles.
The article title: “In operando x-ray tomography for next-generation batteries: a systematic approach to monitor reaction product distribution and transport processes”.
D. Schroder, C. L. Bender, T. Arlt, M. Osenberg, A. Hilger, S. Risse, M. Ballauff, I. Manke and J. Janek
Published September 9, 2016
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/49/40/404001?fromSearchPage=true
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/49/40/404001
- Lithium-sulphur batteries with lean electrolyte: problem areas clarifiedUsing a non-destructive method, a team at HZB investigated practical lithium-sulphur pouch cells with lean electrolyte for the first time. With operando neutron tomography, they could visualise in real-time how the liquid electrolyte distributes and wets the electrodes across multilayers during charging and discharging. These findings offer valuable insights into the cell failure mechanisms and are helpful to design compact Li-S batteries with a high energy density in formats relevant to industrial applications.
- Berlin Science Award goes to Philipp AdelhelmBattery researcher Prof. Dr. Philipp Adelhelm has been awarded the 2024 Berlin Science Award. He is a professor at the Institute of Chemistry at Humboldt University in Berlin (HU) and heads a joint research group at HU and the Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB). The materials scientist and electrochemist is investigating sustainable batteries, which play a key role in the success of the energy transition. He is one of the leading international experts in the field of sodium-ion batteries.
- Sodium-ion batteries: New storage mechanism for cathode materialsLi-ion and Na-ion batteries operate through a process called intercalation, where ions are stored and exchanged between two chemically different electrodes. In contrast, co-intercalation, a process in which both ions and solvent molecules are stored simultaneously, has traditionally been considered undesirable due to its tendency to cause rapid battery failure. Against this traditional view, an international research team led by Philipp Adelhelm has now demonstrated that co-intercalation can be a reversible and fast process for cathode materials in Na-ion batteries. The approach of jointly storing ions and solvents in cathode materials provides a new handle for designing batteries with high efficiency and fast charging capabilities. The results are published in Nature Materials.