Understanding Chemomechanical Li-ion Cathode Degradation through Multi-Scale, Multi-Modal X-ray Spectromicroscopy

In a transitioning energy landscape, the demand for Li-ion based Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) has been and will continue to grow exponentially. Coinciding with this growth, there has been a significant reduction in the cost of batteries while energy density has seen a similar positive trend due largely to decreasing manufacturing costs However, going forward, the expectation is that cost reduction will be sustained by improvements in current and next generation Li-ion battery materials which possess higher capacity, energy density and better safety characteristics. Therefore, a fundamental understanding of Li-ion intercalation and degradation is required in order to provide promising avenues towards the rational design of next generation Li-ion battery materials.