1 research outputs found
Electrochemical Lithiation Cycles of Gold Anodes Observed by In Situ High-Energy X‑ray Diffraction
Significant
developments of Li-ion batteries will be necessary
to cope with the growing demands in electromobility or home storage
of (sustainable) electrical energy. A detailed knowledge on the microscopic
processes during battery cycling will be increasingly crucial for
improvements. Involved phase changes at ambient temperature often
involve metastable intermediate states, making both experimental observation
and theoretical prediction of process pathways difficult. Here we
describe an in situ high energy X-ray diffraction study following
the initial alloying and dealloying of Li with an Au thin-film model
anode using ionic liquid electrolyte. Six different crystalline alloy
phases were observed to be involved in the cyclic phase transitions.
Apart from the highest lithiated phase determined in this study, Li<sub>3</sub>Au, none of the observed phases could be related to known,
thermodynamically stable Li–Au phases. Structural search calculations
following the minima hopping method (MHM) allowed the assignment of
these phases to distinct metastable Au–Li alloy unit cells