Oak Ridge National Laboratory Uses In Situ X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) in Studying Voltage Fading Pathways in Li-Ion Batteries

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory used in situ x-ray diffraction (XRD) to study mechanisms on voltage fading in lithium batteries. This research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society as part of the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society. Abstract on XRD follows:

Investigating the voltage fading mechanism in Li1.2Co0.1Mn0.55Ni0.15O2 lithium-ion battery cathode by in situ x-ray diffraction studies

Debasish Mohanty, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Phone: 865-576-0813
Email: mohantyd@ornl.gov

Linac Coherent Light Source Experiments On Chemical Reactions Lead To Clean Energy Development

New experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source, an X-ray free-electron laser, took an unprecedented look at the way carbon monoxide molecules react with the surface of a catalyst in real time.
Credit: Greg Stewart / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Ongoing experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source Facility aimed at observing chemical reactions within catalysts may lead into better and more efficient clean energy technologies.

The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a free electron laser facility located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). A free electron laser (FEL) is a laser that has the same optical properties of a conventional laser but uses a different principle in forming the laser beam. Free electron lasers use an electron beam which moves freely through a magnetic structure. Conventional lasers use electrons in an excited bound atomic or molecular state.

The LCLS uses ultra-fast x-ray pulses 10⁹ times brighter than traditional synchotron (a type of particle accelerator) x-rays. The x-rays are used to image objects at an atomic level. The wavelength generated by the LCLS is close to the width of an atom which allows a very detailed image at a level thought to be impossible.

The X-ray pulses are used much like flashes from a high-speed strobe light, enabling scientists to take stop-motion pictures of atoms and molecules in motion, shedding light on the fundamental processes of chemistry, technology, and life itself.