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In Operando Spatiotemporal Study of Li 2 O 2 Grain Growth and its Distribution Inside Operating Li–O 2 Batteries
Author(s) -
Shui JiangLan,
Okasinski John S.,
Chen Chen,
Almer Jonathan D.,
Liu DiJia
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201300822
Subject(s) - nanocrystalline material , cathode , crystallite , redox , lithium (medication) , synchrotron , grain size , decomposition , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , dissolution , chemistry , chemical engineering , crystallography , inorganic chemistry , metallurgy , optics , engineering , medicine , physics , organic chemistry , chromatography , endocrinology
Nanocrystalline lithium peroxide (Li 2 O 2 ) is considered to play a critical role in the redox chemistry during the discharge–charge cycling of the Li–O 2 batteries. In this report, a spatially resolved, real‐time synchrotron X‐ray diffraction technique was applied to study the cyclic formation/decomposition of Li 2 O 2 crystallites in an operating Li–O 2 cell. The evaluation of Li 2 O 2 grain size, concentration, and spatial distribution inside the cathode is demonstrated under the actual cycling conditions. The study not only unambiguously proved the reversibility of the Li 2 O 2 redox reaction during reduction and evolution of O 2 , but also allowed for the concentration and dimension growths of the peroxide nanocrystallites to be accurately measured at different regions within the cathode. The results provide important insights for future investigation on mass and charge transport properties in Li 2 O 2 and improvement in cathode structure and material design.