Researchers have figured out a way to microscopically analyze rechargeable batteries while they are "bathed in wet electrolytes" according to RedOrbit.
The new technique essentially mimics conditions located inside actual batteries, which is similar to how scientists use transmission electron microscopy to analyze wet environments, according to RedOrbit.
Research released this week explains that many aspects of battery can be examined under dry conditions. Wet conditions are still important when studying solid electrolyte interphase coating however.
The study was published in the journal Nano Letters.
"The liquid cell gave us global information about how the electrodes behave in a battery environment," said Chongmin Wang of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in a statement, according to RedOrbit. "And it will help us find the solid electrolyte layer. It has been hard to directly visualize in sufficient detail."
Once the ions enter the pores, it makes electrodes "swell" according to Wang, and after repeated use they can eventually become worn down.
Earlier research created to speed battery development indicated that sodium ions leave bubbles behind that could potentially get in the way with the battery's function, according to the study.
"Powering a device with a battery causes the electrons to stream out of the electrode. The positive ions, left behind, surge through the body of the battery and return to the positive electrode, where they await another charging," PNNL said in a statement, according to RedOrbit. "Wang and colleagues have used high-powered microscopes to watch how the ebbing and flowing of positively charged ions deform electrodes."
Thus far, however, transmission electron microscopes have only been able to accommodate dry battery cells (also known as open cells). In actual batteries, liquid electrolytes bathe the electrodes, creating an environment that ions can easily mover through.
With that in mind, the researchers decided to create a wet battery cell inside a transmission electron microscope. The project was completed at the Department of Energy's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL).
The team was able to build a battery so tiny that more than one could fit on one dime, according to the study. The battery contained one silicon electrode and one lithium metal electrode, and both "contained in a bath of electrolyte," according to the PNNL.
When the battery was charged, Wang and his colleagues were able to see the silicon electrode swell up.
"However, under dry conditions, the electrode is attached at one end to the lithium source - and swelling starts at just one end as the ions push their way in, creating a leading edge. In this study's liquid cell, lithium could enter the silicon anywhere along the electrode's length. The team watched as the electrode swelled all along its length at the same time," said the PNNL in a statement, according to RedOrbit.
In future experiments, the thickness of the wet layer will be reduced by approximately 50 percent, which should increase the resolution, according to the study.
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