Fast Synchrotron X-ray Computed Tomography of Zinc Dendrite Growth

The zinc-ion battery (ZIB) is one of the promising candidates for next-generation energy storage devices beyond lithium-ion technology owing to the earth’s abundance of Zn materials, low cost, moderate toxicity, and high volumetric energy density (5855 mAh cm-3). However, to date, technical challenges remain to hinder the practical application of ZIBs. One of the most notorious issues is dendritic formation during the battery operations. The over-growth of Zn dendrites may pierce the separator, and cause battery short-circuiting and failure. Herein, we propose to use the specially designed Swagelok-type Zn cells with various electrolyte for X-ray imaging observations. We aim to dynamically characterise the Zn deposition and dissolution by fast synchrotron X-ray computed tomography (SXCT), thus providing crucial information for battery optimisation. The results will contribute to developing the next-generation ZIBs with longer life and higher performance.