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Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography

Lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries offer higher theoretical specific capacity, lower cost and enhanced safety compared to current Li-ion battery technology. However, the multiple reactions and phase changes in the sulfur conversion cathode result in highly complex phenomena that significantly impact cy...

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Autores principales: Yermukhambetova, Assiya, Tan, Chun, Daemi, Sohrab R., Bakenov, Zhumabay, Darr, Jawwad A., Brett, Daniel J. L., Shearing, Paul R.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group 2016
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066203/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27748437
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep35291
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author Yermukhambetova, Assiya
Tan, Chun
Daemi, Sohrab R.
Bakenov, Zhumabay
Darr, Jawwad A.
Brett, Daniel J. L.
Shearing, Paul R.
author_facet Yermukhambetova, Assiya
Tan, Chun
Daemi, Sohrab R.
Bakenov, Zhumabay
Darr, Jawwad A.
Brett, Daniel J. L.
Shearing, Paul R.
author_sort Yermukhambetova, Assiya
collection PubMed
description Lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries offer higher theoretical specific capacity, lower cost and enhanced safety compared to current Li-ion battery technology. However, the multiple reactions and phase changes in the sulfur conversion cathode result in highly complex phenomena that significantly impact cycling life. For the first time to the authors’ knowledge, a multi-scale 3D in-situ tomography approach is used to characterize morphological parameters and track microstructural evolution of the sulfur cathode across multiple charge cycles. Here we show the uneven distribution of the sulfur phase fraction within the electrode thickness as a function of charge cycles, suggesting significant mass transport limitations within thick-film sulfur cathodes. Furthermore, we report a shift towards larger particle sizes and a decrease in volume specific surface area with cycling, suggesting sulfur agglomeration. Finally, we demonstrate the nano-scopic length-scale required for the features of the carbon binder domain to become discernible, confirming the need for future work on in-situ nano-tomography. We anticipate that X-ray tomography will be a powerful tool for optimization of electrode structures for Li-S batteries.
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spelling pubmed-50662032016-10-26 Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography Yermukhambetova, Assiya Tan, Chun Daemi, Sohrab R. Bakenov, Zhumabay Darr, Jawwad A. Brett, Daniel J. L. Shearing, Paul R. Sci Rep Article Lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries offer higher theoretical specific capacity, lower cost and enhanced safety compared to current Li-ion battery technology. However, the multiple reactions and phase changes in the sulfur conversion cathode result in highly complex phenomena that significantly impact cycling life. For the first time to the authors’ knowledge, a multi-scale 3D in-situ tomography approach is used to characterize morphological parameters and track microstructural evolution of the sulfur cathode across multiple charge cycles. Here we show the uneven distribution of the sulfur phase fraction within the electrode thickness as a function of charge cycles, suggesting significant mass transport limitations within thick-film sulfur cathodes. Furthermore, we report a shift towards larger particle sizes and a decrease in volume specific surface area with cycling, suggesting sulfur agglomeration. Finally, we demonstrate the nano-scopic length-scale required for the features of the carbon binder domain to become discernible, confirming the need for future work on in-situ nano-tomography. We anticipate that X-ray tomography will be a powerful tool for optimization of electrode structures for Li-S batteries. Nature Publishing Group 2016-10-17 /pmc/articles/PMC5066203/ /pubmed/27748437 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep35291 Text en Copyright © 2016, The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
spellingShingle Article
Yermukhambetova, Assiya
Tan, Chun
Daemi, Sohrab R.
Bakenov, Zhumabay
Darr, Jawwad A.
Brett, Daniel J. L.
Shearing, Paul R.
Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography
title Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography
title_full Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography
title_fullStr Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography
title_full_unstemmed Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography
title_short Exploring 3D microstructural evolution in Li-Sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ X-ray tomography
title_sort exploring 3d microstructural evolution in li-sulfur battery electrodes using in-situ x-ray tomography
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066203/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27748437
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep35291
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