Cathode material characterisation using EXAFS & XANES

Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous in mobile devices, for example. In order to develop more powerful batteries, cheaper and more environmentally friendly cathode materials with a higher safety standard are required. At HZB, we are examining lithium-sulfur and lithium-silicon systems to elucidate previous obstacles (such as capacity fluctuations) with regard to better marketing opportunities. In addition to imaging and diffraction methods, we use spectroscopic investigations. By means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS, XANES), charge states of the transition metal ions in different cathode materials as well as changes in the local structure can be measured.