Understanding How Batteries Really Work: Insight from In Operando Investigations

Many promising, high storage-capacity battery electrodes perform well initially, but the capacity quickly fades, limiting their usefulness. By understanding the cause of this capacity loss and battery failure, researchers can develop more stable, high capacity materials. This talk explains our use of X-ray methods during battery operation (in operando) to investigate structural changes that contribute to capacity loss and how this insight can be used to improve materials design.