Abstract
An analytical technique famous for imaging biological structures in exquisite detail can do a heck of a job when adapted to energy storage materials, according to a study. A research team led by Stanford University materials scientists Yuzhang Li, Yanbin Li, and Yi Cui applied cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), the subject of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, to study formation of needlelike lithium dendrites inside lithium-ion batteries (Science 2017, DOI: 10.1126/science.aam6014). Deposition of lithium during charging cycles can lead to dendrites that grow large enough to pierce a battery’s insulating separator and make contact with both of its electrodes. That process short-circuits the battery, causing it to fail and occasionally burst into flames. Standard methods for loading a specimen into a microscope for TEM analysis expose the sample to air. In the case of room-temperature lithium dendrites, that process causes corrosion, which irreversibly changes their structure and composition. To
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