Unveiling Lithium-Ion Batteries through Pixel-by-Pixel Analysis

Researchers from MIT, Stanford University, SLAC National Accelerator, and the Toyota Research Institute have used X-ray imaging to analyze lithium iron phosphate, a material commonly used in electric car batteries. The study revealed variations in the rate of lithium intercalation reactions within different regions of the material, which were found to be correlated with differences in the thickness of the carbon coating on the surface of the particles. This finding could lead to improvements in the efficiency of charging and discharging lithium-ion batteries. The technique could also be applied to gain insights into other materials and biological systems.