Probing solid/electrolyte interfaces for chemical and structural analysis at nanoscale resolution has been achieved using an in-situ electrochemical liquid cell within a transmission electron microscope. The size and material of 10 ultramicroelectrodes on the liquid cell platform can be customized for quantitative electrochemical characterization in commercially relevant Li-ion battery materials/electrolytes[HK1] . With this capability, we have optimized the cell for investigating the morphological evolution of Li electrodes to enhance our understanding of the SEI function and degradation mechanisms [HK2] that limit Coulombic efficiency and result in capacity loss during Li cycling. Depositing Li electrochemically and by evaporation have allowed us to understand how native SEI, on the current collector versus on Li itself, affects deposition morphology[HK3] . We will present the use of nanostructured electrodes, with and without protective layers, in various aprotic electrolytes to provide insights on the formation of Li dendrites, SEI function, and Li cycling efficiency for various cell designs with and without Li metal counter and reference electrodes.<br/><br/>This work was performed at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (CINT), a U.S. DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES) user facility. Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04- 94AL85000. Portions of this work were funded by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR) a DOE BES energy hub, and other portions were supported as part of the Nanostructures for Electrical Energy Storage (NEES), an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the U.S. DOE, Office of Science.

Nanoscale Li-S battery interfaces investigated with in-situ electrochemical transmission electron microscopy

251st National Meeting (2016)

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