Martin Mühlbauer mounts a lithium-ion cell in the slide of the high-resolution powder diffractometer SPODI at the FRM II. Image: Andreas Heddergott / TUM
Martin Mühlbauer mounts a lithium-ion cell in the slide of the high-resolution powder diffractometer SPODI at the FRM II. Image: Andreas Heddergott / TUM Neutrons show effective lithium and electrolyte distribution in lithium-ion cells - In our smartphones, our computers and in our electric cars: We use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries everywhere. But their capacity drops after a while. Now a German-American research team has investigated the structure and functionality of these batteries using neutron diffraction: They discovered that the electrolyte fluid's decomposition products capture mobile lithium in the battery and that the distribution of lithium within the cell is surprisingly uneven. The outstanding characteristics of the lithium-ion battery have changed our everyday lives as only very few other inventions have. However, over time various effects occur which gradually reduce the great storage capability of these batteries. At the Technical University of Munich's Research Neutron Source Heinz Maier-Leibnitz (FRM II) Dr. Anatoliy Senyshyn, instrument scientist at the high-resolution powder diffractometer SPODI, used neutron scattering to investigate the cause of these effects in cylindrical lithium-ion batteries.
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