Synchrotron X‐Ray Tomography for Rechargeable Battery Research: Fundamentals, Setups and Applications

Abstract

Understanding the complicated interplay of the continuously evolving electrode materials in their inherent 3D states during the battery operating condition is of great importance for advancing rechargeable battery research. In this regard, the synchrotron X‐ray tomography technique, which enables non‐destructive, multi‐scale, and 3D imaging of a variety of electrode components before/during/after battery operation, becomes an essential tool to deepen this understanding. The past few years have witnessed an increasingly growing interest in applying this technique in battery research. Hence, it is time to not only summarize the already obtained battery‐related knowledge by using this technique, but also to present a fundamental elucidation of this technique to boost future studies in battery research. To this end, this review firstly introduces the fundamental principles and experimental setups of the synchrotron X‐ray tomography technique. After that, a user guide to its application in battery research and examples of its applications in research of various types of batteries are presented. The current review ends with a discussion of the future opportunities of this technique for next‐generation rechargeable batteries research. It is expected that this review can enhance the reader's understanding of the synchrotron X‐ray tomography technique and stimulate new ideas and opportunities in battery research.

Clarifying the Electro‐Chemo‐Mechanical Coupling in Li10SnP2S12 based All‐Solid‐State Batteries

“…Both the tomography cell (tomo‐cell) design and Swagelok cell (swag‐cell) design [ 23 ] were employed to study the electro‐chemo‐mechanical coupling in Li symmetrical ASSBs built with LSPS, due to its superior ionic conductivity that is comparable to that of liquid electrolyte. [ 22 ] For the CT measurements, two types of symmetrical cells built with the tomo‐cell design ( Figure 1 a), whose schematic illustrations are shown in Figure 1b, were studied.…”

The significance of detecting imperceptible physical/chemical changes/reactions in lithium-ion batteries: a perspective

“…So far, some reviews have summarized the principles, testing setups, observable information about synchrotron radiation for batteries, etc. [149][150][151][152][153] Typically, the detection of synchrotron radiation can also be performed at the material particle level, electrode level, and cell level. [154][155][156][157][158][159] The in situ data provide more real-time experimental evidence for the evolution of electrodes during battery charging and discharging, demonstrating more feasibility for studying integrated and dynamic effects in batteries.…”

Chasing protons in lithium-ion batteries

“…[6][7][8] With the continuous emergence of advanced surface-sensitive characterization tools, more and more physical and chemical characteristics/fingerprints are available to the community to reconstruct the image of the SEI/CEI layer. [9][10][11][12][13] There is also increasing effort in mapping these characteristics/fingerprints to the performance of the electrode materials and to provide empirical guidance for interface engineering of a better SEI/ CEI. However, very limited success was achieved in this area primarily due to the intrinsic drawbacks of these cutting-edge characterization tools.…”