Battery research Watching batteries charge

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Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Münster want to watch batteries charging at the molecular level using the new NAPXAS measuring instrument at the Karlsruhe Research Accelerator (KARA – all based in Germany). It makes liquids accessible for synchrotron research and thus provides unique insights into energy storage processes.

Synchrotron radiation is electromagnetic radiation from particle accelerators, for example in the form of soft X-rays. It allows insights into the internal structure and functioning of materials and thus plays an important role in the development of cutting-edge technologies. For research on electrochemical storage for energy transition, soft X-rays (with wavelengths around one to two nanometers) are ideally suited, but have so far only been used to a limited extent.

"The battery material had to be laboriously extracted under protective gas, dried, glued to suitable sample carriers and – without contamination by air or moisture - transferred to the vacuum of a measuring chamber," explains Dr. Peter Nagel from the Institute for Quantum Materials and Technologies (IQMT) of KIT. "In order to look at entire charging cycles, these work steps then had to be performed on hundreds of differently prepared batteries."

This is set to change with the new NAPXAS (Near Ambient Pressure X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy) measuring instrument, which has been set up at the IQMT's WERA soft X-ray analytic station at the KIT Light Source of the Karlsruhe Research Accelerator (KARA). "With NAPXAS, energy conversion and aging processes in energy storage systems can be spectroscopically examined quasi under wet-chemical normal conditions, and that live while the energy storage is being operated," explains Nagel, who is leading the work on the KIT side.

Redefining the limits of lithium-ion technology

NAPXAS is initially being used in the LimLi (Overcoming Limitations in Li-Ion Batteries) research project at the University of Münster. Dr. Karin Kleiner, who is leading the research work for the MEET (Münster Electrochemical Energy Technology) Battery Research Center at the University of Münster, explains: "We want to understand what limits the energy storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries at the atomic level in order to be able to overcome these limits. Through the combination of theoretical and innovative experimental approaches, we gain unique insights into energy storage processes. Our goal is to develop new, more efficient energy storages and converters by systematically changing the active centers in battery materials."

Internationally available for research

During the current test phase, the new measuring device is being optimized. The synchrotron radiation necessary for the measurements is provided by KARA, which is operated as an accelerator test facility and as KIT Light Source by the Institute for Accelerator Physics and Technology. After completion of this test phase, it is planned to enable researchers worldwide to use the new NAPXAS measuring instrument at WERA via the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility, a high-tech platform for research on functional materials in the micro and nano range. The funds for NAPXAS are provided by the LimLi research project from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. (tk)

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