Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging of LiNiMnCoO Primary Particles within Commercially Printed NMC811 Electrode Sheets.

Due to complex degradation mechanisms, disparities between the theoretical and practical capacities of lithium-ion battery cathode materials persist. Specifically, Ni-rich chemistries such as LiNiMnCoO (or NMC811) are one of the most promising choices for automotive applications; however, they continue to suffer severe degradation during operation that is poorly understood, thus challenging to mitigate. Here we use Bragg coherent diffraction imaging for 4D analysis of these mechanisms by inspecting the individual crystals within primary particles at various states of charge (SoC).

Platinum blue staining of cells grown in electrospun scaffolds.

Fibroblast cells grown in electrospun polymer scaffolds were stained with platinum blue, a heavy metal stain, and imaged using scanning electron microscopy. Good contrast on the cells was achieved compared with samples that were gold sputter coated. The cell morphology could be clearly observed, and the cells could be distinguished from the scaffold fibers.