Understanding solid-state batteries

Understanding Next Generation Solid-State Batteries

International study reveals degradation of electrode/electrolyte interfaces

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Royce microscopy capability gives new insight into solid-state battery lifetime and stability – critical for next generation energy storage, from devices to transport


An international study into the degradation mechanisms occurring in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries made possible by state-of-the-art equipment available through the Royce.

Researchers from the University of Oxford in collaboration with partners at the Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen have used a scanning transmission electron microscope to image the degradation processes occurring at the electrode/electrolyte interface within an all-solid-state lithium-ion battery.

Using an aberration-corrected JEOL ARM200F STEM, scientists found evidence of degradation and mechanical failure of the electrode material after long-term electrochemical cycling. This is an important step towards understanding one of the key causes of battery failure and highlights the need to design new materials with improved stability, in order to realise the true potential of this technology in the energy storage and automotive industry.

This work, published in Applied Materials and Interfaces, is part of the broader Energy Storage research theme at the University of Oxford.

 

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM)

A range of unique materials characterisation equipment across the Royce supports research into energy storage. The Jeol ARM-200F microscope at the University of Oxford is equipped with a Cs-corrector for the electron probe enabling atomic resolution imaging in a wide range of materials.

Energy Storage

“Our results reveal that the mechanical failure and electrochemical instability of both active cathode material and solid electrolyte are highly relevant to the gradual capacity fading of
solid-state batteries.”