Operando tracking of solution-phase concentration profiles in Li-ion battery positive electrodes using X-ray fluorescence

Abstract

The trade-off between energy density and power capabilities is a challenge for Li-ion battery design as it highly depends on the complex porous structures that holds the liquid electrolyte. Specifically, mass-transport limitations lead to large concentration gradients in the solution-phase and subsequently to crippling overpotentials. The direct study of these solution-phase concentration profiles in Li-ion battery positive electrodes has been elusive, in part because they are shielded by an opaque and paramagnetic matrix. Herein we present a new methodology employing synchrotron hard X-ray fluorescence to observe the concentration gradient formation within Li-ion battery electrodes in operando. This methodology is substantiated with data collected on a model LiFePO4/Li cell using a 1 M LiAsF6 in 1:1 ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate (EC/DMC) electrolyte under galvanostatic and intermittent charge profiles. As such, the technique holds great promise for optimization of new composite electrodes and for numerical model validation.