TY - JOUR
T1 - Optical imaging of phase transition and Li-ion diffusion kinetics of single LiCoO2 nanoparticles during electrochemical cycling
AU - Jiang, Dan
AU - Jiang, Yingyan
AU - Li, Zhimin
AU - Liu, Tao
AU - Wo, Xiang
AU - Fang, Yimin
AU - Tao, Nongjian
AU - Wang, Wei
AU - Chen, Hong Yuan
N1 - Funding Information:
We acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grants 21527807, 21522503, 21327008, 21327902), and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150013, BK20140592, BK20150570). We also thank Prof. Huigang Zhang and Prof. Zhenda Lu in Nanjing University for helpful discussion.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2017/1/11
Y1 - 2017/1/11
N2 - Understanding the phase transition and Li-ion diffusion kinetics of Li-ion storage nanomaterials holds promising keys to further improve the cycle life and charge rate of the Li-ion battery. Traditional electrochemical studies were often based on a bulk electrode consisting of billions of electroactive nanoparticles, which washed out the intrinsic heterogeneity among individuals. Here, we employ optical microscopy, termed surface plasmon resonance microscopy (SPRM), to image electrochemical current of single LiCoO2 nanoparticles down to 50 fA during electrochemical cycling, from which the phase transition and Li-ion diffusion kinetics can be quantitatively resolved in a single nanoparticle, in operando and high throughput manner. SPRM maps the refractive index (RI) of single LiCoO2 nanoparticles, which significantly decreases with the gradual extraction of Li-ions, enabling the optical read-out of single nanoparticle electrochemistry. Further scanning electron microscopy characterization of the same batch of nanoparticles led to a bottom-up strategy for studying the structure-activity relationship. As RI is an intrinsic property of any material, the present approach is anticipated to be applicable for versatile kinds of anode and cathode materials, and to facilitate the rational design and optimization toward durable and fast-charging electrode materials.
AB - Understanding the phase transition and Li-ion diffusion kinetics of Li-ion storage nanomaterials holds promising keys to further improve the cycle life and charge rate of the Li-ion battery. Traditional electrochemical studies were often based on a bulk electrode consisting of billions of electroactive nanoparticles, which washed out the intrinsic heterogeneity among individuals. Here, we employ optical microscopy, termed surface plasmon resonance microscopy (SPRM), to image electrochemical current of single LiCoO2 nanoparticles down to 50 fA during electrochemical cycling, from which the phase transition and Li-ion diffusion kinetics can be quantitatively resolved in a single nanoparticle, in operando and high throughput manner. SPRM maps the refractive index (RI) of single LiCoO2 nanoparticles, which significantly decreases with the gradual extraction of Li-ions, enabling the optical read-out of single nanoparticle electrochemistry. Further scanning electron microscopy characterization of the same batch of nanoparticles led to a bottom-up strategy for studying the structure-activity relationship. As RI is an intrinsic property of any material, the present approach is anticipated to be applicable for versatile kinds of anode and cathode materials, and to facilitate the rational design and optimization toward durable and fast-charging electrode materials.
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U2 - 10.1021/jacs.6b08923
DO - 10.1021/jacs.6b08923
M3 - Article
C2 - 27959535
AN - SCOPUS:85018963488
SN - 0002-7863
VL - 139
SP - 186
EP - 192
JO - Journal of the American Chemical Society
JF - Journal of the American Chemical Society
IS - 1
ER -