Battery materials characterization
How can battery ageing mechanisms be identified?
Battery ageing mechanisms can be investigated using complementary in situ, operando and post mortem analytical techniques. Raman spectroscopy and AFM-Raman reveal structural and chemical changes in electrodes and interfacial layers, while GD-OES and micro-XRF provide elemental depth profiles and spatial distributions. Together, these techniques help identify degradation processes affecting battery performance and lifetime.
Why do rechargeable batteries lose capacity over time, and how can we identify the mechanisms responsible for their degradation?
Understanding battery ageing is essential to improve energy storage performance, extend battery lifetime and develop more reliable lithium-ion and sodium-ion technologies. During repeated charge-discharge cycles, complex chemical, structural and interfacial transformations can occur within electrodes, but also at their interface and in the separator.
In this webinar, discover how HORIBA's complementary analytical technologies provide valuable insights into battery degradation mechanisms through in situ, operando and post mortem characterization.
Using real application examples, our experts illustrat how:
Learn how combining these techniques provides a more complete understanding of battery ageing, supports failure analysis and helps researchers optimize electrode materials and battery performance.
Language: English | Duration: Approximately 32 minutes
Series: HORIBA Solutions for the Full Battery Value Chain
Lithium-ion battery ageing results from chemical, structural and interfacial changes occurring during charge-discharge cycling. These include electrode structural degradation, unwanted phase transformations, electrolyte decomposition, SEI evolution and elemental migration. Such processes can contribute to capacity loss, increased resistance and reduced battery lifetime.
Raman spectroscopy identifies changes in the chemical composition and crystal structure of electrode materials. In graphite anodes, variations in the D and G bands intensity ratio help assess the evolution in structural disorder, while changes in characteristic cathode Raman bands reveal phase transformations and structural degradation. Raman mapping also identifies where these changes occur within the electrode.
In situ analysis investigates battery materials in their operating environment, potentially during electrochemical reactions. Operando analysis measures material transformations while the battery is functioning, allowing chemical or structural changes to be correlated with electrochemical behavior. Post mortem analysis examines battery components after cycling or failure to identify accumulated degradation.
GD-OES provides elemental depth profiles through battery electrodes, coatings and interfacial layers. It can reveal elemental redistribution, contamination and changes in surface-layer composition. By comparing electrodes at different stages of cycling, researchers can investigate degradation processes and monitor indicators of SEI evolution.
The SEI is a passivating interfacial layer formed primarily on the negative electrode during battery operation. A stable SEI helps limit continued electrolyte decomposition, while its growth or compositional modification from cycle to cycle can consume cyclable lithium and contribute to capacity loss. Its formation and evolution can be investigated using both Raman and elemental analysis techniques.
Micro-XRF maps elemental distributions across battery components and can reveal localized contamination or migration of elements. Combined with GD-OES depth profiling, it provides complementary lateral and depth information that helps researchers investigate electrode and separator degradation.
AFM provides nanoscale information about surface topography and physical properties, while Raman spectroscopy identifies chemical composition and structural changes. Combining these techniques enables researchers to correlate morphological and chemical changes in battery materials and interfaces. Tip-enhanced Raman approaches can further provide nanoscale chemical information.
Yes. Operando Raman spectroscopy can monitor changes in molecular and crystal structures during electrochemical cycling. The webinar presents examples involving sodium-ion electrode reactions, SEI formation and structural transformations in lithium manganese oxide cathode materials.
Patrick Chapon, GDOES Product Manager, HORIBA
Patrick Chapon is a HORIBA expert in elemental and surface analysis techniques, with extensive experience in Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (GD-OES). His work focuses on the characterization of materials, coatings and interfaces, including applications in battery electrode analysis and degradation studies.
Read more about Patrick Chapon 〉
Alice Fiocco, Raman and AFM-Raman Specialist, HORIBA
Our HORIBA AFM-Raman specialist explores advanced vibrational spectroscopy and its combination with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) for materials characterization. In this webinar, the speaker presents in situ, operando and post mortem approaches to investigate electrochemical reactions, electrode structural changes and battery interface evolution.
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