Electrochemistry & Reflectometry

Despite a huge effort to understand and tailor the electrochemical processes in batteries, there are still open issues, as e.g. the distribution of cations in the electrode during (de-)charging, or the kinetics of the formation of a solid-electrolyte-interphase. A series of in-situ neutron reflectometry measurements on a lithium/silicon battery will be presented, which shows the potential and the limitations of this method.
The second project uses the same technology to investigate magnetic switching in a perovskite film. Electrochemical lithiation is applied to change, reversibly, the ratio of Mn³⁺ to Mn⁴⁺ close to a magnetic phase transition. The process is monitored in-situ by polarised neutron reflectometry. This project started only recently, but the feasibility has already been proven.