The development of high-resolution optical microscopies

Milestone/deliverables (September 2021)

• Develop a generic and easy to implement microelectrochemical cell platform that provides access for super-resolution optical and nitrogen vacancy (NV) centre probes.
• Develop and demonstrate high-speed hyper-spectral reflectance imaging to image lithiation of battery electrodes.
• Develop and demonstrate time-resolved super-resolution interferometric light scattering microscopy as a tool to track ion diffusion within single particles in real time.
• Demonstrate NVs as a local probe to track changes in magnetic properties within an electrode and develop tools to enable the use of NV centres in an operando optical cell.
• Promote and disseminate the new techniques.

Project innovations

The project has developed a new technique – iScat – to observe ion dynamics in solid-state materials that can be used to study most battery materials. Observation of the movement of phase boundaries allows for improved mechanistic understanding of processes at high charge rates. The high throughput methodology allows many particles to be sampled across the electrode and, moving forward, will enable further exploration of what happens when batteries fail and how to prevent them from doing so. Potential commercialisation with an instrument supplier is under negotiation.