Spatiotemporal Operando X-ray Diffraction Study on Li–Air Battery

The benefit of rechargeable nonaqueous lithium–air battery (LAB) can only be realized with stable cycling through reversible electrochemical processes at both electrodes. At present, the state-of-the-art LABs still suffer serious side reactions, rendering them with only very limited lifespan. A holistic understanding on the electrochemical processes taking place inside of LAB under operating condition could provide critical insight on the battery decay mechanism. In this chapter, we describe the investigation on the operating LABs using a spatially and temporally resolved synchrotron microfocused X-ray diffraction technique, combined with other methods such as three-dimensional microtomography and the electron microscopy. The high spatial resolution and fast sampling of the new X-ray diffraction technique enabled us to monitor the structure and composition changes at individual components in LAB in real time and under actual discharge–charge cycling. Such studies gained a great level of details regarding to the redox processes inside of LAB unattainable by any other methods.