ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Operando investigation of SEI formation during Na insertion in hard carbon

Abstract: We are becoming increasingly reliant on energy storage technologies as a vital part of the solution to the energy crisis we currently face. Therefore, the diversification of battery technology is of increasing importance and one such alternative to the dominant Li-ion technology is Na ion batteries (NIBs) as sodium is significantly more abundant and well distributed in the Earth?s crust compared to lithium. The current anode of choice for NIBs is hard carbon (HC) - a class of disordered, porous and non-graphitic carbonaceous material. There are still key questions about the structure, Na-insertion mechanism, and solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) formation in HC that are unanswered. An operando experiment on NIMROD using our custom cell can shed light on these areas simultaneously, as we will focus on SEI formation. We will use contrast matching through deuterated electrolytes to extract chemical information on the SEI formation during cycling. The large Q-range we can access on NIMROD will allow us to identify changes occurring at all the relevant length scales in this system ? at the surface of the particles, in the closed pores, as well as in the graphite layers. We can therefore not only observe SEI formation in the pores, but also on the surface, as well as tracking changes in the graphite as Na intercalation occurs. This will contribute to fundamental understanding of this system needed to optimise the electrochemical properties of the hard carbon anode.

Experimenter: Miss Laura Ibanez Gomez
Experimenter: Dr Ali Nedoma
Experimenter: Mr Jack Fitzpatrick
Local Contact: Dr Tom Headen
Experimenter: Dr Andrew Parnell
Experimenter: Dr Gabriel Perez
Experimenter: Dr Emily Reynolds

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2310672

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2310672

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Miss Laura Ibanez Gomez et al; (2023): Operando investigation of SEI formation during Na insertion in hard carbon, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2310672

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.