In Situ Neutron Powder Diffraction Using Custom-made Lithium-ion Batteries

William R. Brant; Siegbert Schmid; Guodong Du; Helen E. A. Brand; Wei Kong Pang; Vanessa K. Peterson; Zaiping Guo; Neeraj Sharma

doi:10.3791/52284

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Method Article

In Situ Neutron Powder Diffraction Using Custom-made Lithium-ion Batteries

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DOI:

10.3791/52284

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November 10th, 2014

William R. Brant¹ , Siegbert Schmid¹ , Guodong Du² , Helen E. A. Brand³ , Wei Kong Pang²^,⁴^,⁵ , Vanessa K. Peterson⁴ , Zaiping Guo²^,⁵ , Neeraj Sharma⁶

¹School of Chemistry, University of Sydney, ²Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials, University of Wollongong, ³Australian Synchrotron, ⁴Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, ⁵School of Mechanical, Materials, and Mechatronic Engineering, University of Wollongong, ⁶School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales

Summary

We describe the design and construction of an electrochemical cell for the examination of electrode materials using in situ neutron powder diffraction (NPD). We briefly comment on alternate in situ NPD cell designs and discuss methods for the analysis of the corresponding in situ NPD data produced using this cell.

Abstract

Li-ion batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices and are considered as promising candidates for higher-energy applications such as electric vehicles.^1,2 However, many challenges, such as energy density and battery lifetimes, need to be overcome before this particular battery technology can be widely implemented in such applications.³ This research is challenging, and we outline a method to address these challenges using in situ NPD to probe the crystal structure of electrodes undergoing electrochemical cycling (charge/discharge) in a battery. NPD data help determine the underlying structural mechanism responsible for a range of electrode properties, and this information can direct the development of better electrodes and batteries.

We briefly review six types of battery designs custom-made for NPD experiments and detail the method to construct the ‘roll-over’ cell that we have successfully used on the high-intensity NPD instrument, WOMBAT, at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The design considerations and materials used for cell construction are discussed in conjunction with aspects of the actual in situ NPD experiment and initial directions are presented on how to analyze such complex in situ data.

Introduction

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries provide portable energy for modern electronics and are important in high-energy applications such as electric vehicles and as energy storage devices for large-scale renewable energy generation.^3-7 A number of challenges remain to achieve widespread use of rechargeable batteries in vehicular and large-scale storage, including energy densities and safety. The use of in situ methods to probe atomic and molecular-scale battery function during operation are becoming increasingly common as the information gained in such experiments can direct methods to improve existing battery materials, e.g. by identifying po....