Milled Carbon Research Articles

Characterization and Properties of Aluminium Reinforced Milled Carbon Fibres Composites Synthesized by Uniball Milling and Uniaxial Hot Pressing

Al-matrix composites reinforced with variant quantity of milled carbon fibers (MCFs) were manufactured via uniball magneto milling and uniaxial hot pressing (UHP). Cylindrical compacts of these composites were produced at approximately 600 °C for 15 min and 70 MPa uniaxial pressure in an argon atmosphere. The microstructure of powders and consolidated composite samples were studied by X-ray diffractometry and field emission scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy. The physical and mechanical properties of the bulk samples were estimated by Archimedes density, Vickers microhardness, modulus of elasticity, maximum compressive strength, yield strength, nanoindentation, and specific wear rate. Results show that Al + 20 vol% of MCFs has a higher compressive strength of (710 ± 32) MPa and modulus of elasticity of (15 ± 2) GPa compared to other composites and unreinforced Al sample. There are several factors that could be participate in improving the composite properties. These reasons included enhanced interface between Al matrix and MFCs, free of porosity, refined microstructure, and improved wetting between MFCs and Al matrix. Also, the specific wear rate of the composite was decreased when the MCFs volume fraction increases from 5 to 20%. This might propose that MFCs reduced the wear of the composites by acting as a self-lubrication material and might be suggested when using these types of composites in components sliding against hard surface. The notable composite properties were found at processing parameters of 50 h milling time and UHP at 600 °C for 15 min under 70 MPa applied pressure.

Drop-on-demand high-speed 3D printing of flexible milled carbon fiber/silicone composite sensors for wearable biomonitoring devices

Three-dimensionally (3D) printed flexible piezoresistive composite sensors have provided valuable solutions for the personalized therapeutic development due to their promising capability in biomonitoring applications. Silicone rubber (SR) matrix is an important candidate to enable flexibility to the 3D printed devices. However, 3D printing of silicone inks blended with conductive fillers is limited due to the high viscosity, long curing time, and high percolation threshold. In the present study, a novel high-speed material jetting (MJ) 3D printing of high-viscosity conductive inks based on the mixture of a UV crosslinkable silicone rubber and milled carbon fibers (MCF) is demonstrated. The MCF content was optimized for printability, UV curability, and electrical conductivity. The sensors (with 30 wt. % MCF content) show high flexibility and foldability as well as a high resistance sensitivity to sever bending tests. The stretchability of 3D printed sensors was further improved by sandwiching the MCF/SR sensing layer between the SR layers. The electromechanical evaluation of the sandwiched MCF/SR sensors (S-MCF/SR) confirmed the high piezoresistive sensitivity of sensors (gauge factor in order of ∼400). Finally, the 3D printed sensors were employed for monitoring human joint motions to demonstrate the potential application in monitoring biosignals.

The effect of short carbon fibers on rheological behaviour and mechanical properties of metakaolin-slag geopolymer binder

This study investigates the effects of short carbon fibers addition on rheological behaviour of geopolymer binder and final mechanical strength of prepared composite. The pure geopolymer binder and variously carbon fiber reinforced composites were tested. The pure geopolymer binder was synthesized by alkalination of calcined claystone powder and milled blast furnace slag by potassium silicate solution. The binders reinforced by carbon fibers were prepared under the same conditions. Mixtures were accordingly reinforced by 20 wt% of short and milled fibers, respectively. The effect of fibers length (3 mm and ≤ 0.5 mm) was studied with regard to rheological behaviour of prepared mixtures and mechanical properties of final composites. The rheological properties were determined in accordance to flow properties by rotational rheometry. The final properties were determined by measurements of flexural strength after 3, 28 and 280 days and by means of optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results indicate that milled carbon fibers had a slight effect on flow properties compared to pure binder. In contrast, 3 mm long carbon fibers significantly increased viscosity and noticeably decreased workability by interlocking mechanism of individual fibers. Moreover, it was proved that addition of milled fibers had a low reinforcement effect on composite samples and led only to slight improvement of stress-strain behaviour. On the contrary, the reinforcement by 3 mm carbon fibers improved the stress-strain properties and significantly increase ultimate flexural strength (approximately 5 times) compared to pure geopolymer binder in all studied time intervals.

An integrated carbon footprint accounting and sustainability index for palm oil mills

Palm oil industry has received criticism from various parties on the issue of sustainability and the greenhouse gases. Carbon footprint accounting are widely used as a metric of climate change impacts and the main focus of many sustainability policies among companies and authorities. However, carbon footprint accounting has limitation to represent sustainability as a whole and may resulting inaccurate selection of further mitigation. This paper evaluates sustainability and greenhouse gases simultaneously using an integrated palm oil mill carbon footprint accounting (POMCFA) and palm oil mill sustainability index (POMSI) method. The integration was performed via the adoption of data synchronization of the carbon footprint accounting and sustainability assessment. The analysis shows that highest carbon dioxide equivalent emission was contributed by palm oil mill effluent followed by diesel consumption and water consumption. In terms of sustainability scoring, the results show that the environmental aspect achieved the lowest scores compared to other aspects (social and economy). Weaknesses identified include diesel consumption, palm oil mill effluent and boiler emission. The assessment analysed in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent and sustainability scoring demonstrates its potential to provide comprehensive mitigation selection purposes.

Distribution of milled carbon fibers as a function of their length on S-glass fabric and its effect on the electromagnetic properties of S-glass epoxy composites

Milled carbon fibers added S-glass epoxy composites were fabricated using milled carbon fibers as fillers. Milled carbon fibers having five different lengths namely 7, 20, 60, 200 and 400 µm were used to fabricate five different S-glass epoxy composites. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscope studies of S-glass epoxy composites indicated that milled carbon fibers having 400 µm length settled at weave openings as large clusters besides spreading on the tow surfaces at the interfilament undulations. Milled carbon fibers having 200 µm length were found to form smaller clusters at weave openings with an array of interconnected network in the resin-rich grid zones on the tow surfaces at the interfilament undulations. Milled carbon fibers having 60 µm and further lower lengths were found to get arrested at the interfilament undulations with random orientations without interconnectivity. Electromagnetic properties namely permittivity, loss tangent, and reflection loss of the fabricated composites measured in the range of 8 GHz to 18 GHz indicated that controlled agglomeration of the milled carbon fibers with interconnectivity is required for observing increase in the electromagnetic properties. This study indicated that S-glass epoxy composites added with milled carbon fibers having 400 µm length can show better conductivity due to increased interconnectivity but cannot effectively absorb incident microwave energy due to their inability to confine within the resin-rich grid zones as well as increased reflections from the large clusters that are formed at weave openings.

One-step enrichment of silica nanoparticles on milled carbon fibers and their effects on thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties of polymethyl-vinyl siloxane rubber composites

It is critical to develop new approaches of preparing engineered carbon-based fillers for high-performance applications. Herein, silica nanoparticles enriched milled carbon fibers (MCFs@SiO2) as novel thermal conductive and electrical insulating filler was synthesized through a simple and rapid sol-gel reaction method within one hour before their incorporation into polymethyl-vinyl siloxane rubber (MVSR). Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) were applied to analyze the surface chemical structure of synthesized MCFs@SiO2, results of which demonstrated the existence of unhydrolyzed oxyethyl groups that are beneficial to improve the compatibility with polymer matrix. Enrichment mechanism of silica nanoparticles on milled carbon fibers was also described. The MVSR composites with a 20 vol.% MCFs@SiO2 loading showed 109.7% higher thermal conductivity compared to that of neat MVSR and an excellent electrical volume resistivity of 1.04 × 109 Ω cm owing to the silica nanoparticles layer. Besides, their tensile strength increased by 145.7%, resulting from the good compatibility between MCFs@SiO2 and MVSR which was confirmed by scanning electron microscope observations.

Effect of milled carbon on interfacial properties of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy-based composites

In order to overcome the weak bonding force between the interface of the composite materials, research for improving the interfacial bonding force by adding nanoparticles has been actively conducted. However, despite the improvement of characteristics through the addition of nanoparticles, it is not widely used because the particles are relatively expensive and it is difficult to control the aggregation between the particles. In this study, we compared the mechanical properties of relatively low-cost halloysite nanotube (HNT) nanoparticles with micro-sized milled carbon. Based on the similar mechanical properties of the composites with two particles added, we found that milled carbon could replace HNT particles. In addition, if the cohesion of HNT is reduced based on the strengthening effect of milled carbon having a relatively low cohesive strength, it is expected that the strengthening effect can be obtained more than that found in the existing studies.

Chemical Conversion of Steel Mill Gases to Urea: An Analysis of Plant Capacity

AbstractA significant amount of global carbon dioxide emissions is due to steel mill gases. One promising approach for the reduction of these emissions is their chemical conversion. In this regard, the conversion to urea is very advantageous, since common urea processes are already using carbon dioxide as a feedstock. In the present paper, urea capacities are determined that can be realized using steel mill gases. The capacities are estimated based on new process concepts that are presented in this paper. Exemplarily, the steel mill of thyssenkrupp Steel in Duisburg, Germany, is considered. It could be shown that reasonable urea capacities can be reached. By this means, a great impact can be made on the reduction of steel mill carbon dioxide emissions.

Structural, microstructural and magnetic evolution in cryo milled carbon doped MnAl

The low cost, rare earth free τ-phase of MnAl has high potential to partially replace bonded Nd2Fe14B rare earth permanent magnets. However, the τ-phase is metastable and it is experimentally difficult to obtain powders suitable for the permanent magnet alignment process, which requires the fine powders to have an appropriate microstructure and high τ-phase purity. In this work, a new method to make high purity τ-phase fine powders is presented. A high purity τ-phase Mn0.55Al0.45C0.02 alloy was synthesized by the drop synthesis method. The drop synthesized material was subjected to cryo milling and followed by a flash heating process. The crystal structure and microstructure of the drop synthesized, cryo milled and flash heated samples were studied by X-ray in situ powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. Magnetic properties and magnetic structure of the drop synthesized, cryo milled, flash heated samples were characterized by magnetometry and neutron powder diffraction, respectively. The results reveal that the 2 and 4 hours cryo milled and flash heated samples both exhibit high τ-phase purity and micron-sized round particle shapes. Moreover, the flash heated samples display high saturation magnetization as well as increased coercivity.

Fabrication and Evaluation of Low Density Glass-Epoxy Composites for Microwave Absorption Applications

<p class="p1">In the present work, fabrication and evaluation of low density glass – epoxy (LDGE) composites suitable for absorbing minimum 80 per cent of incident microwave energy in 8 GHz to 12 GHz (X-band) is reported. LDGE composites having different densities were fabricated using a novel method of partially replacing conventional S-glass fabric with low density glass (LDG) layers as the reinforcement materials. Flexural strength, inter laminar shear strength and impact strength of the prepared LDGE composites were evaluated and compared with conventional High density glass-epoxy (HDGE) composites to understand the changes in these properties due to replacement of S-glass fabrics with LDG layers. To convert LDGE structures to radar absorbing structures controlled quantities of milled carbon fibers were impregnated as these conducting milled carbon fibers can act as dielectric lossy materials which could absorb the incident microwave energy by interfacial polarisation. Electromagnetic properties namely loss tangent and reflection loss of carbon fiber impregnated LDGE composites were evaluated in 8 GHz -12 GHz frequency region and compared with HDGE composites. It was observed that both LDGE and HDGE composites have shown loss tangent values more than 1.1 and minimum 80 per cent absorption of incident microwave energy. Thus the results indicates that, LDGE composites can show EM properties on par with HDGE composites. Furthermore these LDGE composite could successfully withstand the low velocity impacts (4.5 m/s) with 50 J incident energy. Due to their ability to show good mechanical properties and light weight, LDGE composites can be used as a replacement for conventional HDGE composites to realise radar absorbing structures.</p>

Ultrasonically Assisted Preparation of Carbon Fiber Doped Electriclly Conductive Micropatternable Nanocomposite Polymer for MEMS/Nems Applications

Polymer MEMS/NEMS is a fast growing field with applications in lab on a chip (LOC), μTAS to new sensors and actuators to flexible micro-nano devices [1, 2,3]. While many polymers have been employed to realize flexible MEMS and microfluidic devices such as stated above, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a silicone based elastomer, has been widely used because of its biocompatibility, low cost, low toxicity, high oxidative and thermal stability, optical transparent, low permeability to water, low electrical conductivity, and ease of micropatterning [4,5,6,7, 8]. However, most devices based on PDMS or any kind of polymers are passive and, if active devices are fabricated, then they are bonded to substrates like glass which may contain active components like electrodes, heaters etc patterned on glass. This is because it has proven difficult to integrate, embed or pattern conducting lines, magnetic materials on PDMS because of the weak adhesion between PDMS and metals/alloys. In order to over come this problem, in past we had demonstrated fabrication of various PDMS based micropatternable nanocomposite polymers which are either electrically conductive and magnetic in nature [9, 10, 11, 12]. In this work we present an improved electrically and thermally conducuctive micropatternable PDMS based nanocomposite polymer containg milled carbon fibers, prepared by ultrasonically assisted processing technology. The prepared nanocomposite not only shows a better electrical and thermal conductivity cpmpared to previpusly reported work [13, 14,15,16, 17], but also negative temerate cofficient of resistivity (NTCR), making them as an ideal candidate for on chip μ-temperature sensors. Acknowledgements: Authors would like to thank Nippon Graphite Fiber Co., Ltd, Japan; for proving milled carbon fiber and technical support for this project.

Resistive Hysteresis of Carbon Nanofiber Doped Elastomeric Nanocomposite Polymer

Micropatternable flexible elastomeric nanocomposites find application in sensing biomechanical strains and biopotential signals [1-5]. While many polymers have been used to fabricate flexible MEMS polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a silicone based elastomer, has been widely used because of its biocompatibility, low cost, low toxicity, high oxidative and thermal stability, optical transparent, low permeability to water, low electrical conductivity, and ease of micropatterning [6-15]. Previously, we had demonstrated fabrication of various PDMS based micropatternable nanocomposite polymers which are either electrically conductive and magnetic in nature [16-17]. We have developed improved electrically and thermally conducuctive micropatternable PDMS based nanocomposite polymer containg milled carbon fibers, prepared by ultrasonically assisted processing technology. The prepared nanocomposite microstructures show interesting resistance hysteresis loop. This paper also discusses the underlying mechanisims that are responsible for resistance hysteresis loop. Acknowledgements: Authors would like to thank Nippon Graphite Fiber Co., Ltd, Japan; for proving milled carbon fiber and technical support for this project.

Room Temperature Conversion of Carbon Dioxide into Fuel Gases by Mechanochemically Reacting with Metal Hydrides

Carbon dioxide has attracted more and more attention as a promising C1 resource. Herein, we demonstrate a new, facile mechanochemical strategy for converting CO2 to fuel (CH4, CO and H2) by ball milling carbon dioxide with alkali and alkaline earth metal hydrides (LiH, MgH2 and CaH2) at room temperature. The resultant products are dependent on the ratio of CO2 to LiH, and a conversion efficiency of 100% is achieved when the molar ratio of CO2 to LiH is less than 4:5. These results are due to the thermodynamically favourable but kinetically unfavourable reactions between CO2 and LiH/MgH2/CaH2, and the high collision energy allows for initiation of the reactions by ball milling.

Development of Aluminium Reinforced Milled Carbon Fibre Composites via Magnetically Controlled Ball Milling: Manufacturing and Characterisation

Aluminium reinforced with different volume fractions of milled carbon fibres (MCFs) were manufactured via advanced powder metallurgy processing method. Composites containing 5, 10, 15 and 20 % volume fraction of MCFs were prepared using the Uniball magneto milling technique. Full density cylindrical compacts were produced by uniaxial hot pressing (UHP) at 600°C for a dwelling time close to 15 minutes. Characterization was done using x-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FSEM). The mechanical and physical properties were determined by compression testing, Vickers hardness, and Archimedes density. Unniball milling of blends resulted in decrease of aspect ratio of the MCFs and refinement of the Al grain size. Results show slight uniform distribution of MCFs in Al matrix for higher volume fractions without discernible porosity. In samples containing low volume fractions of MCFs (5% and 10%) fibres tended to be pushed towards grain boundaries during grain growth. In samples with higher volume fraction of MCFs (15 and 20% a more uniform distribution of MCFs in the product was obtained. The compressive strength of the composites was enhanced by the fibres, attributable to good interface bonding and wetting between the matrix and the reinforcement fibres. The combination of controlled ball milling and UHP techniques has facilitated the development of Al-MCFs composites potentially to be used in automobile industries.

Improved thermal and mechanical properties of aluminium oxide filled epoxy composites by reinforcing milled carbon fiber by partial replacement method

The demands for high performance electronic devices have been increasing recently. This continuous demand simultaneously put forward stringent requirements for effective thermal management solutions. In this study, improved thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy composites consisting of milled carbon fiber (MCF) and polyhedral aluminium oxide (Al2O3) fillers have been reported. By adding 14.5 wt% MCF and 60 wt% Al2O3 particles into epoxy, the maximum thermal conductivity reached were 3.3 and 7.9 times that of neat epoxy respectively. To further improve the composite thermal conductivity, a mixture of the two fillers was utilized. Milled carbon fiber with high aspect ratio enables it to act as heat conducting bridges among 3-D Al2O3 irregular particles; contributing considerably to the formation of a more efficient percolating network for heat flow. This resulted in an exceptionally high thermal conductivity with relatively lower filler content. A thermal conductivity of ten times that of neat epoxy was obtained with 42 wt% Al2O3 + 8 wt% MCF thus not only break the bottleneck of further improving the thermal conductivity of epoxy composite but also broaden the application of MCF in the field of thermal management solutions.

Microstructure and ablation behavior of an affordable and reliable nanostructured Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA)

Among polymeric Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials, Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablators (PICAs) offer substantial specific weight reduction. A traditional NASA developed PICA is made starting from a preform or using Milled Carbon Fibers (MCFs) to produce a porous skeleton impregnated with a liquid phenolic matrix; the production methods, allow to obtain a low density porous material showing high ablation resistance. The aim of this research was to produce a nanostructured PICA (n-PICA) based on the use of MCFs, a liquid phenolic matrix, and selected nanofillers. Two different nanofillers were used: Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (MWNTs) and nanoclays. The synergistic effect of the two nanofillers was evaluated in terms of thermal and dimensional stability, mechanical properties and ablation resistance via oxy-acetylene torch. Scanning electron microscopy was used to investigate the exposed and in depth surface morphologies of the oxy-acetylene torch tested specimens in order to highlight the differences in the thermal erosion mechanisms.

Electrical properties of extruded milled carbon fibre and polypropylene

A milled carbon fibre and polypropylene polymer composite at high filler loading was developed to produce conductive polymer composites for high conductive applications. Current research of conductive polymer composite material has reported about in-plane conductivity that was often higher than through-plane conductivity, which contradicted with the target of applications that required higher electrical conductivity in the through-plane direction. Therefore, electrical conductivity in parallel and transverse to extrusion directions were investigated. The general-effective media and modified fibre contact model were adapted to predict the electrical conductivity of the composite material. The experimental conductivity data of polypropylene/milled carbon fibre composites for transverse and parallel directions were not correlated with the general-effective media model with 2.009 and 0.663 S/cm, respectively, at the highest filler loading of 80 wt.%. This disagreement was due to various critical exponential, t values (2–3.25) that were obtained in this study. However, the modified fibre contact model seemed to have good agreement with the experimental data in the parallel to extrusion direction. This model was unable to predict electrical conductivity in the transverse direction due to lack of orientation occurring in that direction. The electrical conductivity increased as the filler loading increased as explained in percolation theory. Predicting the electrical conductivity of conductive polymer composites material is still in the preliminary stages where the researcher often obtains fluctuating agreement with the experimental values. Thus, contact between filler and orientation is considered as the main factor that influences the electrical conductivity and mechanical strength of the conductive polymer composites material.

미분쇄 탄소섬유가 첨가된 피치계 탄소섬유기반 기체확산층용 탄소종이 특성

본 연구에서는 피치계 탄소섬유기반 탄소종이에 바인더 피치와 PAN계 미분쇄 탄소섬유를 첨가하여 저온탄화를 통해 재함침된 탄소종이를 제작하였으며, 미분쇄 탄소섬유의 첨가가 탄소종이의 기계적 및 전기적 특성과 열전도도에 미치는 영향을 알아보았다. 실험 결과, 인장강도는 미분쇄 탄소섬유 함량 10 wt.%부터 20 wt.%까지 첨가하였을 때 크게 증가하였다. 또한, 미분쇄 탄소섬유 함량이 증가함에 따라 계면접촉저항은 감소하였으며, 전기전도도 및 열전도도는 증가하였다. 이러한 결과는 미분쇄된 탄소섬유의 첨가가 탄소종이의 밀도를 증가시킴에 따라 전기적 및 열적 전달 경로가 형성되었기 때문이라고 판단된다. In this work, the pitch-based carbon paper (P-CP) was prepared by re-impregnating of binder pitches and PAN-based milled carbon fibers (MCF) at low temperature carbonization process. The influence of MCF content on physicochemical properties of MCF/P-CP was investigated. As a result, the tensile strength of MCF/P-CP was increased sharply from 10 wt.% to 20 wt.% of MCF. Also, the increase of MCF content led to the decrease of interfacial contact resistivity and the improvement of electrical and thermal conductivity of MCF/P-CP. These results were probably due to the increase of density of MCF/P-CP, resulting in the formation of electrically and thermally conductive paths of the carbon paper.

Improved Mode I fracture resistance of CFRP composites by reinforcing epoxy matrix with recycled short milled carbon fibre

This paper proves that incorporation of recycled short milled carbon fibre (SMCF) in epoxy resin can lead to the generation of significantly tougher carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) systems in a cost effective manner for infrastructural applications. Structural epoxy resin is modified by adding 5 and 10wt.% of SMCF particles and the ‘fracture toughness’ of the modified matrix (GICM) is observed to be increased by 300% and 700% respectively. Subsequently, the SMCF modified epoxy resins were used to fabricate unidirectional carbon fibre reinforced laminates and tested under Mode I crack opening. The SMCF reinforcement showed 50% and 64% improvement in the laminates fracture toughness (GICC) after adding 5% and 10% SMCF by wt., respectively. Scanning electron microscope images of the fracture surface highlight improved debonding and pull-out mechanisms contributing to the additional fracture toughness, and at the same time there was no evidence of fibre clustering.

A Case Study: Li/S Battery Characterization in Argonne National Laboratories Post-Test Facility and Center for Nanoscale Materials

Lithium ion batteries are an important energy source with wide scale applications due to their high energy and power densities. As the application of Li-ion batteries has advanced to their use in electric vehicles and grid energy storage, the demand for increased performance has led to research into higher capacity anodes and cathodes. Recent effort has focused on the development of Li2S cathodes because of the low cost and high theoretical capacity (1675 mAh/g) of sulfur. One of the advantages of a Li2S cathode is the ability to pair with safer anode materials rather than Li metal, however, a major limitation to practical application is the formation of soluble lithium polysulfides which leads to rapid capacity fade and high self-discharge. In order to circumvent these problems, attempts at encapsulating Li2S particles with conductive carbon have been made with some success. In this study, to understand the effect of the carbon shell, a Li/S battery consisting of a Li2S cathode with particles encapsulated with nitrogen-doped carbon, and a Li-metal anode was characterized at Argonne’s battery Post-Test Facility and the Center for Nanoscale Materials. The coated particles were prepared by ball milling carbon black with Li2S particles followed by stirring with pyrrole and subsequent carbonization in an autoclave. Cells made with the coated Li2S particles exhibited higher capacity with prolonged cycling than uncoated cells. The improved performance is attributed to the presence of the N-doped carbon coating on the Li2S particles. The cycled cells were subsequently opened in the Post-Test Facility glovebox. The anode and cathode were analyzed using HPLC, optical microscopy, and SEM/EDS. TEM and EFTEM of the Li2S particles was performed at the Center for Nanoscale Materials using a special air-tight sample holder. The sample was placed in the holder that was in an Ar-filled glovebox and then transferred into the TEM. Argonne’s unique Post-test Facility has two large connected argon-filled glove boxes with water and oxygen concentrations held below 1 ppm. One glove box is used for the dismantling of cells, both large and small, and the subsequent sample preparation for analysis. Samples are transferred to the second customized glove box (via an air-lock) for XPS, Raman, FTIR and TGA-MS analysis. Samples for HPLC-MS, GCMS, SEM and optical microscopy are removed from the glove box in containment and analyzed in appropriately modified instrumentation. Argonne’s Center for Nanoscale Materials user facility was used for EFTEM imaging, using an air-tight sample holder and Raman with multiple laser sources. Through these facilities we were able to systematically characterize cells at a multi-scale level. This work was performed under the auspices of the DOE Office of Vehicle Technologies, Hybrid and Electric Systems, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. Use of the Center for Nanoscale Materials was supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. The submitted manuscript has been created by UChicago Argonne, LLC, Operator of Argonne National Laboratory ("Argonne"). Argonne, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, is operated under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. The U.S. Government retains for itself, and others acting on its behalf, a paid-up nonexclusive, irrevocable worldwide license in said article to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and perform publicly and display publicly, by or on behalf of the Government. * Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL ** Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL