User research at BESSY II: Graphite electrodes for rechargeable batteries investigated
The tomogram during the charging process shows the spatially resolved changes in the graphite electrode thickness of a rechargeable aluminium ion battery in a discharged and charged state. © HZB
Rechargeable graphite dual ion batteries are inexpensive and powerful. A team of the Technical University of Berlin has investigated at the EDDI Beamline of BESSY II how the morphology of the graphite electrodes changes reversibly during cycling (operando). The 3D X-ray tomography images combined with simultaneous diffraction now allow a precise evaluation of the processes, especially of changes in the volume of the electrodes. This can help to further optimise graphite electrodes.
Published in Advanced Functional Materials (2020); Simultaneous X‐Ray Diffraction and Tomography Operando Investigation of Aluminum/Graphite Batteries; Giuseppe Antonio Elia, Giorgia Greco, Paul Hans Kamm, Francisco García‐Moreno, Simone Raoux, Robert Hahn
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202003913
Abstract: Rechargeable graphite dual‐ion batteries are extremely appealing for grid‐level stationary storage of electricity, thanks to the low‐cost and high‐performance metrics, such as high‐power density, energy efficiency, long cycling life, and good energy density. An in‐depth understanding of the anion intercalation mechanism in graphite is fundamental for the design of highly efficient systems. In this work, a comparison is presented between pyrolytic (PG) and natural (NG) graphite as positive electrode materials in rechargeable aluminum batteries, employing an ionic liquid electrolyte. The two systems are characterized by operando synchrotron energy‐dispersive X‐ray diffraction and time‐resolved computed tomography simultaneously, establishing a powerful characterization methodology, which can also be applied more in general to carbon‐based energy‐related materials. A more in‐depth insight into the AlCl4−/graphite intercalation mechanism is obtained, evidencing a mixed‐staged region in the initial phase and a two‐staged region in the second phase. Moreover, strain analysis suggests a correlation between the irreversibility of the PG electrode and the increase of the inhomogenous strain. Finally, the imaging analysis reveals the influence of graphite morphology in the electrode volume expansion upon cycling.
- Lithium-sulphur pouch cells investigated at BESSY IIA team from HZB and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (IWS) in Dresden has gained new insights into lithium-sulphur pouch cells at the BAMline of BESSY II. Supplemented by analyses in the HZB imaging laboratory and further measurements, a new picture emerges of processes that limit the performance and lifespan of this industrially relevant battery type. The study has been published in the prestigious journal Advanced Energy Materials.
- Largest magnetic anisotropy of a molecule measured at BESSY IIAt the Berlin synchrotron radiation source BESSY II, the largest magnetic anisotropy of a single molecule ever measured experimentally has been determined. The larger this anisotropy is, the better a molecule is suited as a molecular nanomagnet. Such nanomagnets have a wide range of potential applications, for example, in energy-efficient data storage. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Kohlenforschung (MPI KOFO), the Joint Lab EPR4Energy of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (MPI CEC) and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin were involved in the study.
- Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize and Synchrotron Radiation Innovation AwardThis year, the Friends of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (Freundeskreis des HZB e. V.) awarded the Ernst Eckhard Koch Prize to Dr. Dieter Skroblin of the Technische Universität Berlin for his outstanding doctoral thesis. The European Innovation Award Synchrotron Radiation went to Dr. Manfred Faubel from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization in Göttingen and Dr. Bernd Winter from the Fritz Haber Institute in Berlin. The award ceremony took place at this year's HZB user meeting.