First-ever ‘movie’ of EV battery failing under stress recorded by US scientists
The new method enabled the scientists to watch chemistry in action and film how energy materials react to temperature changes.
Researchers in the US have used electron microscopy to capture electric vehicle (EV) battery failure on film for the first time showing how lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries deteriorate when exposed to severe heat or cold.
Led by Yao Yang, PhD, a chemistry and chemical biology assistant professor at University of Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences, the team came up with the innovative solution in a bid to diagnose the mechanisms behind battery degradation in extreme climates.
The method, which the scientists referred to as operando electrochemical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reportedly allowed them to watch chemistry in action and collect real-time movies revealing what happens to energy materials during temperature changes.
“We now have an opportunity to investigate battery operation down to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit), as in extremely cold Arctic climates, and catalyst activation and degradation up to 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) as in many industrial catalysts and every car’s catalytic converter,” Yang pointed out.