A first look inside Li-ion batteries

New technique developed by researchers at McGill and UQAM offers unprecedented view inside lithium-ion batteries, potentially leading to dramatically faster charging times for EVs, computers, and phones What if you could charge your electric vehicle in the same amount of time it takes to fill a tank of gas? In a new paper published today in Joule , researchers from McGill University and the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) announced the development of a novel method that enables researchers to peer inside Li-ion batteries and, for the first time, track the physical processes that take place in both the liquid and solid parts of the battery cells as they happen. The breakthrough sheds new light on the factors that influence the speed at which Li-ion batteries can be charged or discharged and could lead to fast-charging capabilities in some of the most essential and widely used electronic devices and vehicles, from laptops and cellphones to electric bikes, scooters, and cars. The research team, led by chemistry professors Janine Mauzeroll at McGill and Steen B. Schougaard at UQAM, in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), used highly concentrated X-rays to look inside Li-ion battery cells and found that the technique succeeded in mapping changes in lithium concentration, in real-time, as the batteries charge or discharge. "As a Li-ion battery charges or discharges, lithium travels inside the cell in both a liquid electrolyte and a solid active material, and how fast this happens generally depends on how fast the lithium can move from one side of the cell to the other through both these phases," said Jeremy Dawkins, who worked on the project as a PhD candidate in Schougaard and Mauzeroll's labs.