In Situ Visualization of Li-Whisker with Grating-Interferometry-Based Tricontrast X-ray Microtomography

Abstract

The lithium-ion battery has demonstrated tremendous economic and social impacts. Upon battery operation under different conditions, lithium changes its chemical state and physical formation, leading to undesired side reactions, e.g., lithium dendrite growth that degrades the cell performance and causes safety concerns. In situ detection and visualization of lithium metal in functional batteries could offer insights with both scientific and industrial significance but remain a frontier challenge. Here, we demonstrate in situ three-dimensional imaging of lithium whisker using a grating-interferometry-based tricontrast X-ray microtomography method. Our approach explicitly reveals the micromorphology of the electrochemically developed porous lithium whisker with micrometer-level spatial resolution while offering sensitivity to the nanoporosity that is smaller than the nominal resolution limit. Our result reveals valuable structural information on the lithium whisker that is otherwise inaccessible. This method is also readily applicable to a broad range of battery research, including all-solid-state batteries.

In situ visualization of multicomponents coevolution in a battery pouch cell

“…However, the use of high-energy X-rays also leads to poor imaging contrast on the low-Z materials. One possible solution is to integrate the micro-CL system with Talbot interferometry to offer different contrast modalities, which could enhance the sensitivity of this method in imaging low-Z cell components ( 39 ). This is a rather sophisticated approach and is clearly beyond the scope of the present article.…”

Perspective—Morphology and Dynamics of Metal Dendrites in Batteries Revealed by X-ray Computed Tomography

“…2g). 19 This method simultaneously and correlatively offers three different contrast mechanisms, i.e., absorption, phase contrast, and dark field contrast. In addition to the absorption and phase contrasts, which we have elaborated above, the dark-field contrast arises from the small-angle scattering of the X-rays and is associated with fine structural features beyond the nominal imaging resolution.…”

Deep‐Learning‐Enabled Crack Detection and Analysis in Commercial Lithium‐Ion Battery Cathodes

“…In situ analysis enables monitoring the behavior of battery particles as the chemical and morphological changes are occurring, highlighting the dynamic nature of the degradation. [ 6,7 ] However, performing the in situ experiments is often challenging, which requires dedicated customization of the cell configuration and often raises questions on the electrochemical representativeness. Non‐in situ methods study cell components removed from the battery.…”