| AVS 64th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Applied Surface Science Division | Monday Sessions |
| Session AS+BI+MI-MoM |
| Session: | Practical Surface Analysis: Getting the Most Out of Your Analysis using Complementary Techniques |
| Presenter: | Vijayakumar Murugesan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
| Authors: | V. Murugesan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory K. Han, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory M.I. Nandasiri, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory V. Shutthanandan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory S. Thevuthasan, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory K.T. Mueller, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Comprehensive understanding about the interfacial reactions between electrode and electrolyte is the major knowledge gap which inhibit the development of the lithium sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Despite numerous studies, the interfacial reaction mechanism such as SEI layer evolution and polysulfides dissolution process is still unclear. Hence, it is critical to develop a multi-modal approach that can provide unprecedented chemical imaging of complex interfaces in wide lateral (ranging from subatomic to micron) and temporal scales (few ns to seconds). Herein, we report an in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) combined with ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) computational modelling to gain fundamental understanding about the complex interfacial interactions in Li-S batteries. A multi-modal approach involving AIMD modelling and in situ XPS and NMR characterization uniquely reveals the chemical identity and distribution of active participants of interfacial reactions as well as the -battery capacity fading mechanism.