Ex-situ study probing the accessibility of hard carbon anodes to li-ions in lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium ion batteries have had a huge impact on modern day life, as recognized by this year's Nobel Prize awards. To continue making advancements that meet the ever growing demands of our energy storage needs, it is really important to understand how the electrode functions from the nano-scale to the meso-scale. To this end an in-operando electrochemical cell has been built to probe structural changes within battery electrodes through total neutron scattering whilst the battery undergoes charge and dishcarge. The aims of this proposal are two-fold: to find the optimal thickness for these in-operando studies for both neutron total scattering and electrochemistry, and to answer the question of at which thickness do electrodes start storing lithium ions poorly and why.

锂离子电池（Lithium ion batteries）对现代生活产生了深远影响，这一点已得到本年度诺贝尔奖的认可。为了持续推进技术进步以满足日益增长的储能需求，从纳米尺度到介观尺度解析电极的工作机制至关重要。为此，我们搭建了原位（in-operando）电化学池，可在电池充放电过程中，通过中子全散射技术探测电池电极内部的结构变化。本研究的目标分为两点：一是确定适用于中子全散射与电化学原位研究的最优电极厚度；二是探明电极开始无法高效存储锂离子的临界厚度及其背后成因。