Quantification of reference electrode artifacts and its impact on Li-ion battery durability by X-ray diffraction

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the widespread adoption of electric vehicles remains challenging due to the high charging time of today's batteries. Indeed, increasing the charging rate of Li-ion batteries leads to an increased risk of lithium plating: a parasitic reaction that affects the safety and durability of the battery. It is therefore essential to develop a real-time Li plating detection technique compatible with industrial applications i.e., a reference electrode (RE). However, inserting an additional electrode in a conventional battery is not neutral as it could interfere with the other electrodes leading to faster failure. We propose here to perform X-ray diffraction at several locations in a pouch-cell i) close to the reference electrode as well as far away from the RE to see the impact of the RE on the electrochemical lithiation/delithiation processes and ii) to probe the electrochemical activities of the RE.