EXAFS studies of LiNbO3Li-ion battery cathodes

Authors:

• Students:
  • Maxwell Brand
  • Olivia Buffo
  • Grace Di Bartolomeo
  • Ryan Encher
  • Daniel Kawiecki
  • Sydney Lindenberg
  • Ricardo Linares
  • Aidan Regan
• Teachers:
  • Mark Schaedel
  • Sam Weiss
• Mentors:
  • Carlo Segre (Illinois Institute of Technology, Advanced Photon Source, Sector 10-BM)

Advanced Photon Source Sector 10: MRCAT

Lithium-Ion batteries play an integral role in our everyday life. It’s incredibly important to increase the functionality of these batteries, as technology is constantly expanding in complexity and use. The cathode functions by extracting lithium and moving it to the anode. As this happens, it may also be possible to lose oxygen from around the niobium (in the case of LiNbO3). This loss of coordination number can signal degradation in the cathode material. We will be measuring the structural changes that happen in the cathode material, LiNbO3, using x-ray spectroscopy before and after we cycle it and how reversible it is under cycling, to understand how we can better the material and shelf life of the cathode. We hope to have the opportunity to get hands-on experience with a photon accelerator to further our understanding of Lithium Niobate batteries.

*Note – This school group was unable to complete their project due to the COVID-19 pandemic.