Webinar - X-ray nano-tomography & Hard X-ray total scattering for thorough battery investigations
TEESMAT WEBINAR SERIES
4 NOVEMBER 2021, 15:00-16:30 CET
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TEESMAT project organises a series of webinars with the Service Providers presenting the characterization techniques and user cases.
The fourth webinar, titled ‘X-ray nano-tomography & Hard X-ray total scattering for thorough battery investigations’, will be presented by the experts Isaac Martens and Victor Vanpeene from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility – ESRF.
The recording of the webinar can be found here
The topic
After a brief introduction of the TEESMAT project framework, the webinars will focus on two different characterization techniques available at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, which can be applied for energy related material analysis. X-ray nano-tomography (T8) and Hard X-ray total scattering (T13) can be used as complementary tools for deep and thorough investigation of batteries, respectively at the microstructural and crystallographic level. These techniques can provide ex situ/post mortem as well as in situ analysis capability. Their combined use provides detailed insight into aging mechanisms inside complex active materials.
An overview of both techniques along with a theoretical explanation of their ground principle will be given by the experts. This will be discussed with respect to applications as well as practical limitations through battery case study presentations.
TEESMAT-T8 X-ray nano-tomography ( V. Vanpeene, J. Villanova )
X-ray nano-tomography is a phase contrast imaging technique that provides 3D high spatial resolution microstructural information within a sample. The high flux and high coherency of the synchrotron X-ray source helps resolve complex microstructure of material, even in the case of low attenuating material, with fast acquisition rate at the nano-scale level.
This technique can be useful in various field of application for complex material, that requires access to 3D information with high spatial resolution. Different 3D parameters (porosity, volume fraction of different phases, particle size distribution, tortuosity, areal surface, etc.) can be extracted thanks to a thorough image analysis provided by an external service provider Xploraytion. This can be useful especially in the frame of:
- Production control/ process optimization (particle size, phases % ….)
- Performance/durability: degradation over cyclelife (electrode cracking, delamination, gas formation, electrolyte consumption, etc.)
Results obtained can be used for variety of modelling studies (T31) and be correlated to multiple other characterization techniques: EIS (T18), Hard X-ray scattering (T13), Acoustic measurement (T12), Raman (T16), etc.
TEESMAT-T13 Hard X-ray scattering (I. Martens)
X-ray diffraction is a versatile technique which probes the ordering inside a solid material. For crystalline samples X-rays will diffract at specific angles, which produce characteristic patterns towards identifying and quantifying different phases. The shape and position of the peaks in the diffraction pattern allow small quantities of strain and crystallite size to be investigated.
Typical X-ray diffraction experiments on laboratory instruments use relatively long X-ray wavelengths. Utilizing synchrotron radiation offers several advantages: higher speed, higher resolution, higher sensitivity, spatial resolution down to the micron scale, and the ability to probe amorphous materials. The shorter (hard) X-ray wavelengths also penetrate through samples up to several centimeters in size, which allows many experiments to be performed in situ. This last consideration is critical for many battery materials, which need to be studied under potential control.
X-ray diffraction imaging can also be performed, which allows heterogeneity in the sample to be probed.
X-ray diffraction can also be combined with several other complementary techniques (imaging/spectroscopy) to provide a detailed understanding of sample structure from the nanoscale to the centimeter scale.
For battery material analysis, typical outcomes from hard X-ray scattering include:
- Phase identification
- Phase quantification and impurity analysis of multi-phase solids, down to <1% in many cases
- High resolution strain determination
- Crystallite size modelling, especially for anisotropic and layered-structure materials
- Microstrain and defect analysis
- Short-range ordering in amorphous and semi-crystalline materials through pair-distribution function (PDF) analysis
- Microstructure through small-angle X-rays scattering (SAXS)
The speakers
Isaac Martens is an X-ray diffraction scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Structure of Materials and X-ray Nanoprobe groups at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) on beamlines ID-31 and ID-01. Isaac’s specialty is developing advanced characterization techniques, particularly in situ/operando tools to better understand the aging processes in electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and batteries His current position focuses on improving the accessibility of synchrotron analytical techniques towards the battery industry.
Victor Vanpeene is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility-ESRF (Grenoble, France). He obtained in 2019 his Ph.D. in energy and materials science conducted jointly at INRS-EMT and at the Institut des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA-Lyon, France). Previously he obtained his engineering degree in electrochemistry and materials science from INP-Phelma (Grenoble, France). Affiliated to the division of experiment, nano-probe analysis, his research focus on the nano-analysis technique for in situ monitoring the operation of a lithium based battery and other energy related devices. Additionally, one additional field of interest is the use of the X-ray fluorescence coupled with tomography as complementary analysis technique for battery characterization.
Practical information
Date & Time: 04 November 2021, 15:00-16:30 CEST
Location: Online
Registration: Participation is open to all interested parties, please register on this page.
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About TEESMAT
Energy is one of the keystones of prosperity in the European Union. Access to advanced characterisation solutions enables industry to apply a knowledge-based approach, which is essential to accelerate innovation and reduce the cost of technologies.
Battery energy storage plays a major role in the ongoing transition to a decarbonised and clean energy system. The development of a competitive battery value chain in Europe is one of the top priorities of the European Commission.
TEESMAT – the Open Innovation Test Bed for Electrochemical Energy Storage Materials – brings a comprehensive response to the critical bottlenecks faced by EU stakeholders in the field of electrochemical energy storage materials. It leverages EU know-how & expertise from 11 countries and facilitates access to physical facilities, usable data, and industrially relevant services based on novel characterisation solutions.
The main impact of TEESMAT lays in setting up & implementing a financially sustainable Open Innovation Test Bed whose techniques and services address diverse problems faced in the development of clean, safe, high-performance battery solution.
Be part of TEESMAT community. W: www.teesmat.eu | T: @Teesmat_EU | In : TEESMAT
TEESMAT is an EU project that has received funding from the H2020, under Grant Agreement n 814106 (H2020-NMBP-TO-IND-2018).