Abstract
Insights into the dynamics of electrochemical processes are critically needed to improve our fundamental understanding of electron, charge, and mass transfer mechanisms and reaction kinetics that influence a broad range of applications, from the functionality of electrical energy-storage and conversion devices (e.g., batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors), to materials degradation issues (e.g., corrosion and oxidation), and materials synthesis (e.g., electrodeposition). To unravel these processes, in situ electrochemical scanning/transmission electron microscopy (ec-S/TEM) was developed to permit detailed site-specific characterization of evolving electrochemical processes that occur at electrode-electrolyte interfaces in their native electrolyte environment, in real time and at high-spatial resolution. This approach utilizes closed-form microfabricated electrochemical cells that couple the capability for quantitative electrochemical measurements with high spatial and temporal resolution imaging, spectroscopy, and diffraction. In this article, we review the state-of-The-Art instrumentation for in situ ec-S/TEM and how this approach has resulted in new observations of electrochemical processes.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 738-745 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | MRS Bulletin |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2020 |
Funding
Research supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (RRU) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (KLJ) at Sandia National Laboratory, which are US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facilities. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the US DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration under Contract No. DE-NA-0003525. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the US DOE or the United States Government. B.L.M. and N.D.B. acknowledge support for this work from the UK Faraday Institution's Degradation, Recycling and Characterization projects. In addition, aspects of this work were supported by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), an Energy Innovation Hub funded by the US DOE, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences and by the Chemical Imaging Initiative, a Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Support was also provided by the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies of the US DOE under the Advanced Battery Materials Research (BMR) Program (CMW). Work at PNNL was conducted at the William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), a national scientific user facility sponsored by the US DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research. PNNL is operated by Battelle for the DOE under Contract No. DE-AC05–76RL01830. B. Layla Mehdi is an assistant professor and associate director of the Albert Crewe Center for Electron Microscopy at the University of Liverpool, UK. Her research focuses on the development of operando electrochemical electron microscopy capabilities, emphasizing energy storage, electrocatalysis, and pharmaceutical applications in both liquids and gases. She has received the Microscopy Society of America Early Career Albert Crewe Award, a Materials Research Society Postdoctoral Award, a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Fellowship, a Microscopy and Microanalysis Presidential Award, and the Robert P. Apkarian Award for her development of operando measurements for beam-sensitive materials, including Li-ion batteries. Mehdi can be reached by email at [email protected] .
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences | |
| Chemical Imaging Initiative | |
| Faraday Institution | |
| Office of Vehicle Technologies of the US DOE | |
| Sandia National Laboratory | |
| US DOE Office of Biological and Environmental Research | |
| US Department of Energy | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Office of Science | |
| Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy | |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| National Nuclear Security Administration | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| Sandia National Laboratories | |
| Royal Roads University | |
| Pacific Northwest National Laboratory | |
| Materials Research Society | |
| Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies | |
| Japan Society for the Promotion of Science |
