3D microstructure changes in high energy cathode material cycled vs. Li metal cell using a standardised operando cell (neutron + X-ray)

Standards, protocols and electrochemical reliability are key parameters for operando type measurements in batteries. We developed a special electrochemical cell for both neutron and synchrotron operando imaging experiments, to demonstrate that standards and protocols can be obtained using a proper cell design. We propose to test this new electrochemical cell with known challenging high-energy material (LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 cathode vs. Li metal) at the ID31 beamline at ESRF and, in parallel, at D50/NeXT at ILL. Our goal is to obtain a deep understanding of kinetics limitation, lithium gradient, core shell degradation and microstructure changes during electrochemical cycling of high energy NMC811 materials by combining X-ray and neutron 3D tomography techniques. The validation/optimization of neutron/x-rays standardized cell and correlated 3D data analysis is a major target in battery research (H2020 BIGMAP project, Batteries 2030+).