- Wang, XL;
- An, K;
- Cai, L;
- Feng, Z;
- Nagler, SE;
- Daniel, C;
- Rhodes, KJ;
- Stoica, AD;
- Skorpenske, HD;
- Liang, C;
- Zhang, W;
- Kim, J;
- Qi, Y;
- Harris, SJ
We report an in-situ neutron diffraction study of a large format pouch battery cell. The succession of Li-Graphite intercalation phases was fully captured under an 1C charge-discharge condition (i.e., charge to full capacity in 1 hour). However, the lithiation and dilithiation pathways are distinctively different and, unlike in slowing charging experiments with which the Li-Graphite phase diagram was established, no LiC 24 phase was found during charge at 1C rate. Approximately 75 mol. % of the graphite converts to LiC6at full charge, and a lattice dilation as large as 4% was observed during a charge-discharge cycle. Our work demonstrates the potential of in-situ, time and spatially resolved neutron diffraction study of the dynamic chemical and structural changes in real-world batteries under realistic cycling conditions, which should provide microscopic insights on degradation and the important role of diffusion kinetics in energy storage materials.