Related papers: Resolving the sodiation process in hard carbon ano…
The degradation mechanism in a sodium cell of a layered Na0.48Al0.03Co0.18Ni0.18Mn0.47O2 (NCAM) cathode with P3/P2 structure is investigated by revealing the changes in microstructure and composition upon cycling. The work aims to…
Ni particle coarsening is a primary degradation mechanism in Ni/YSZ solid oxide cells, limiting the lifespan of these devices. In this study, we demonstrate the use of Scanning 3D X-ray diffraction (S3DXRD) with an unprecedented spatial…
Macroscopic ensembles of nanocarbons, such as fibres of carbon nanotubes (CNT), are characterised by a complex hierarchical structure combining coherent crystalline regions with a large porosity arising from imperfect packing of the large…
Development of materials for electrochemical energy conversion requires a deep understanding of the factors governing chemical and physical rates at submicron length scales. Many workers have sought to develop chemically sensitive in situ…
Recent years have seen a rapidly escalating demand for battery technologies capable of storing more energy, charging more quickly and having longer usable lifetimes, driven largely by increased electrification of transport and by grid-scale…
Sodium-ion batteries are a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to lithium-ion systems for large-scale energy storage. Hard carbon (HC) anodes, composed of disordered graphitic and amorphous domains, offer high capacity but exhibit…
Battery function is determined by the efficiency and reversibility of the electrochemical phase transformations at solid electrodes. The microscopic tools available to study the chemical states of matter with the required spatial resolution…
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are becoming increasingly important due to their high electrical efficiency, the flexible choice of fuels and relatively low emissions of pollutants. However, the increasingly growing demands for…
Phosphorus is one of the most promising anodes for sodium ion batteries (SIBs). Little is known about the structural mechanism of Na/P cycling due to the fact that only one of the structures involved (Na3P) is crystalline. Using operando…
We discuss electronic and magnetic properties of Na$_x$Fe$_{1/2}$Mn$_{1/2}$O$_2$, a promising Na-ion battery cathode material. Using x-ray Compton scattering, SQUID magnetometry, and density-functional-theory based modeling, we probe how…
Structural and ion-ordering phase transitions limit the viability of sodium-ion intercalation materials in grid scale battery storage by reducing their lifetime. However, the combination of phenomena in nanoparticulate electrodes creates…
The relationship between charge and structure dictates the properties of electrochemical systems. For example, reversible Na-ion intercalation - a low-cost alternative to Li-ion technology - often induces detrimental structural phase…
Linking electrode microstructure to electrochemical performance is essential for optimizing Li-ion batteries. However, this requires mechanistic 4D observations at ultimate spatio-temporal scales, which remains elusive. Here we demonstrate…
We present a computational study of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in amorphous silicon ($a$-Si) with particular emphasis on the morphology and microstructure of voids. The relationship between the scattering intensity in SAXS and the…
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) technique enables convenient nanoscopic characterization for various systems and conditions. Nonetheless, lab-based SAXS systems intrinsically suffer from insufficient x-ray flux and limited angular…
The annealing kinetics of the high energy ion damage in amorphous silicon dioxide (a-SiO2) are still not well understood, despite the material's widespread application in material science, physics, geology, and biology. This study…
Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have garnered significant attention in recent years as a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to their low cost, abundant sodium resources, and excellent cycling performance. Hard carbon…
Small-angle X-ray or neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS/SAS) is widely used to obtain structural information on biomolecules or soft-matter complexes in solution. Deriving a molecular interpretation of the scattering signals requires methods for…
NaxCoO2 has emerged as a material of exceptional scientific interest due to the potential for thermoelectric applications, and because the strong interplay between the magnetic and superconducting properties has led to close comparisons…
Calcium carbonate is a model system to investigate the mechanism of solid formation by precipitation from solutions, and it is often considered in the debated classical and non-classical nucleation mechanism. Despite the great scientific…