Efficient lithium metal stripping and plating operation capable of maintaining electronic and ionic conductivity is crucial to develop safe lithium metal batteries. However, monitoring lithium metal microstructure evolution during cell cycling is challenging. Here, we report the development of an operando synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy method capable of probing in real-time the formation, growth, and dissolution of Li microstructures during the cycling of a Li||Cu cell containing a standard non-aqueous liquid electrolyte solution. The analyses of the operando X-ray tomographic microscopy measurements enable tracking the evolution of deposited Li metal as a function of time and applied current density and distinguishing the formation of electrochemically inactive Li from the active bulk of Li microstructures. Furthermore, in-depth analyses of the Li microstructures shed some light on the structural connectivity of deposited Li at different current densities as well as the formation mechanism of fast-growing fractal Li microstructures, which are ultimately responsible for cell failure.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36568-z | DOI Listing |
J Chem Theory Comput
January 2025
Department of Chemistry, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453, United States.
The photocatalytic efficiency of materials such as graphene and noble metal nanoclusters depends on their plasmon lifetimes. Plasmon dephasing and decay in these materials is thought to occur on ultrafast time scales, ranging from a few femtoseconds to hundreds of femtoseconds and longer. Here we focus on understanding the dephasing and decay pathways of excited states in small lithium and silver clusters and in plasmonic states of the π-conjugated molecule anthracene, providing insights that are crucial for interpreting optical properties and photophysics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Phys Condens Matter
January 2025
Department of Physics, Hunan Normal University, Building of quantum, Hunan normal university, Changsha, Hunan, 410081, CHINA.
Scandium (Sc) can orderly occupy interstitial sites within the Ω phase of aluminum alloys, forming a new phase that significantly enhances the thermal stability of the alloy. However, Sc is relatively expensive and rare. In this work, we employ first-principles calculations to delve into the physical essence interstitial ordering of Sc in enhancing thermal stability at the electronic level, thereby revealing the crucial factors responsible for this improvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Colloid Interface Sci
January 2025
MOE Key Laboratory for UV Light-Emitting Materials and Technology, Department of Physics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin 130024, PR China; Faculty of Chemistry, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Jilin 130024, PR China. Electronic address:
Considering factors such as crustal reserves, atomic mass, redox potential and energy density, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are regarded as the most promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Transition metal-based layered oxides, especially typical NaMnO, stand out among cathode materials due to their low cost and high energy density. However, NaMnO cathodes face several challenges, including Jahn-Teller distortion, manganese dissolution, structural collapse, irreversible phase transition and significant capacity loss.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
January 2025
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697.
Understanding topological defects-controlled structural degradation of layered oxides-a key cathode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries-plays a critical role in developing next-generation cathode materials. Here, by constructing a nanobattery in an electron microscope enabling atomic-scale monitoring of electrochemcial reactions, we captured the electrochemically driven atomistic dynamics and evolution of dislocations-a most important topological defect in material. We deciphered how dislocations nucleate, move, and annihilate within layered cathodes at the atomic scale.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Commun (Camb)
January 2025
School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, Hunan, China.
CuF and LiBOB were co-introduced into polycarbonate-based polymer electrolytes (PVT-CB) to overcome the trade-offs between ionic conduction and interfacial stability, resulting in improved ionic conductivity (8.4 × 10 S cm) and enhanced electrochemical stability (5.04 V Li/Li).
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