Using the lifetime measurement of negative-muon decay in commonly used cathodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs)

The non-destructive elemental analysis technique using negative muons called muonic X-ray Emission Spectroscopy has been successfully utilised at ISIS with the MuX instrument, to analyse samples from a wide range of scientific disciplines. However, this technique poses certain challenges in terms of the detection limit and the corresponding measurement times. This is a continuation of the previous proposal (RB 2510714), which investigated an alternative method using negative muons, relying on the measurement of negative muon decay lifetimes to determine the elemental composition. Owing to the success of the previous experiment carried out with common Li-compounds and minerals, this proposal would like to extend this approach to commonly used cathodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The success of this study is foreseen to extend this research to in-situ/operando measurements of battery materials, an area that is of global importance.