Spectroscopic Ellipsometry for Operando Monitoring of (De)Lithiation-Induced Phenomena on LiMn2O4 and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 Electrodes

Abstract

High voltage cathodes suffer from degradation phenomena that are challenging to be observed and identified during cell operation. Dense and smooth sputtered thin films electrodes with absence of binders and conductive additives allow a direct study of the active material upon Li insertion and extraction at surface and bulk. Using an operando spectroscopic ellipsometry set-up combined with a customized electrochemical-optical cell (EC-SE), the evolution of the optical absorption and thickness of LiMn2O4 and LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 thin-film electrodes was monitored upon cycling. Mixed Mn3+/4+ valence in the electrodes and evident layer dissolution associated to Transition Metal (TM) dissolution in the non-aqueous electrolyte at the applied polarization potentials was observed. Our results reaffirm EC-SE as a convenient method to study degradation phenomena in cobalt-free transition metal oxide electrodes.