The intrinsic understanding of the electrochemical processes at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, such as the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, component/structure evolution and the reaction kinetics, is essential in both fundamental studies and applications in energy storage technologies. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) as one of the advanced characterization techniques has been regarded as a powerful tool to investigate the morphology, mechanical property and surface potential of the electrode surfaces. Coupled with the potentiostat/galvanostat, it can perform in situ observations of the interfacial evolution and dynamic transformation at the nanoscale to reveal the reaction and failure mechanisms in a working battery. In the present work, we focus on the in situ AFM studies of the electrode processes at both cathode/electrolyte and anode/electrolyte interfaces in Li batteries, which provides fundamental insights into the interfacial effects on the battery performance.

In situ AFM of electrochemical processes at electrode/electrolyte interfaces in lithium batteries

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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