The NSLS-II is a one-of-a-kind tool that generates ultrabright X-rays for studying the atomic-scale makeup of materials. The team has utilised the advanced capabilities of the X-ray Powder Diffraction (XPD) beamline at NSLS-II to make many new discoveries in battery chemistry over the years. Now, they have built on their previous successes and returned to XPD to learn more about the interphase.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0previously discovered\u00a0that high energy synchrotron X-rays do not damage the interphase sample,\u201d Hu said. \u201cThis is very important because one of the greatest challenges in characterising the interphase is that the samples are highly sensitive to other types of radiation, including low-energy X-rays. So, in this work, we took advantage of two techniques that use high energy X-rays, X-ray diffraction and pair distribution function analysis, to capture the chemistries of both the crystalline and the amorphous phases in the lithium metal anode interphase.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lithium metal battery was cycled 50 times to harvest enough interphase sample. Then, the team disassembled the cell, removed a trace amount of interphase powder from the surface of the lithium metal, and directed XPD\u2019s high-energy X-rays at the sample to reveal its elusive chemistry.<\/p>\n