Monitoring dynamics of electrode reactions in Li-ion batteries by in situ ESEM

This paper introduces a novel in situ method for monitoring electrode reactions in lithium-ion batteries parallel to the electrochemical experiment (in situ electrochemical environmental scanning electron microscopy). Alloy and alloy/carbon composite electrodes suffer from large volume changes followed by cracking and loss of electronic contact of the particles. The measurement setup and the cell principle are described. Reactions occurring on the surface of a Sn/carbon/binder composite electrode during the lithiation process are presented for illustration. The new method provides insight into the dynamics of electrode reactions, shape changes of particles, spatial distribution of solid electrolyte interphase reactions, etc.