Battery Materials investigated by Atomic-scale Cryogenic Microscopy Characterisation

提高储能设备的寿命和性能是绿色能源社会的关键。电解质与电极的界面在电池和电容器中起着至关重要的作用。然而，由于电解质的液相和Li的挥发性，表征该区域具有挑战性。用于生物研究的低温样品制备和显微镜分析最近已用于电池表征。低温真空条件允许人们对在这些非常复杂的界面处产生的电化学反应有不失真的看法。在这个项目中，我们将研究新的纳米材料组合物和沉积方法，用于下一代能量存储。对于这些能源材料，有一个巨大的未探索的基本问题领域，现在只有随着低温显微镜仪器和直接电子探测器的发展才有可能实现无损伤成像和光谱学。本项目旨在研究：电极-电解质界面与锂离子电池性能之间的关系。在原子尺度上研究了固液界面的复杂结构，重点是对轻元素和易挥发元素如Li和H的探测。界面内化学键合的变化。学生将被纳入伦敦帝国理工学院新的EPSRC英国国家低温显微镜中心（https：//www.imperial.ac.uk/centre-for-cryomicroscopy/）。这种独特的设备允许在受控气氛和低温下在高端像差校正透射电子显微镜和原子探针之间进行样品转移，从而以前所未有的精度对材料进行结构和成分成像。学生还将获得Imperial-X的数据处理和模拟支持，Imperial-X是人工智能，数据科学和数字技术的新中心

Improving the lifetime and performance of energy storage devices is key to a green-energy society. The interface of the electrolyte and electrode plays the most crucial role in batteries and capacitors. However due to the liquid phase of the electrolyte and the volatile nature of Li, characterising this region is challenging. Cryogenic sample preparation and microscopy analysis exploited for biological research has more recently been used for battery characterisation. The cryogenic vacuum conditions allows one to have an undistorted view of the resulting electrochemical reactions at these very complex interfaces. In this project we will investigate new compositions of nanomaterials and deposition methods for the next generation energy storage. There is a vast field of unexplored fundamental questions to be addressed for these energy materials that is only possible now with the development for cryogenic microscopy instrumentation and direct electron detectors for damage free imaging and spectroscopy. This project will aim to investigate:The relationship between the electrode-electrolyte interface and the performance of lithium-ion batteries. The complex structure of the solid-liquid interface at the atomic-scale, with an emphasis on probing the light and volatile element such as Li and H. Changes in chemical bonding within the interfaces.The student will be integrated into the new EPSRC UK national centre for cryogenic microscopy facility at Imperial College London (https://www.imperial.ac.uk/centre-for-cryomicroscopy/). The unique facility allows for sample transfer, under controlled atmosphere and at cryogenic temperature, between a high-end aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope and an atom probe, allowing for structural and compositional imaging of materials with an unprecedented precision. The student will also have access and support for data processing and simulations from the Imperial-X, the new centre for artificial intelligence, data science and digital technologies