Concurrent Operando Neutron Imaging and Diffraction Analysis Revealing Spatial Lithiation Phase Evolution in an Ultra-Thick Graphite Electrode Markus Strobl, Monica E. Baur, Stavros Samothrakitis, Florencia Malamud, Xiaolong Zhang, et al. Advanced Energy Materials, 2025 Energy‐efficient, safe, and reliable Li‐ion batteries (LIBs) are required for a wide range of applications. The introduction of ultra‐thick graphite anodes, desired for high energy densities, meets limitations in internal electrode transport properties, leading to detrimental consequences. Yet, there is a lack of experimental tools capable of providing a complete view of local processes. Here, a multi‐modal operando measurement approach is introduced, enabling quantitative spatio‐temporal observations of Li concentrations and intercalation phases in ultra‐thick graphite electrodes. Neutron imaging and diffraction concurrently provide correlated multiscale information from the scale of the cell down to the crystallographic scale. In particular, the evolving formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), observation of gradients in total lithium content, as well as in the formation of ordered LixC6 phases and trapped lithium are mapped throughout the first charge–discharge cycle of the cell. Different lithiation stages co‐exist during charging and discharging; delayed lithiation and delithiation processes are observed in central regions of the electrode, while the SEI formation, potential plating, and dead lithium are predominantly found closer to the interface with the separator. The study emphasizes the potential to investigate Li‐ion diffusion and the kinetics of lithiation phase formation in thick electrodes.
Texture tomography with high angular resolution utilizing sparsity Mads Carlsen, Florencia Malamud, Peter Modregger, Anna Wildeis, Markus Hartmann, et al. Journal of Applied Crystallography, 2025 We demonstrate an approach to the reconstruction of scanning probe X-ray diffraction tomography data with anisotropic polycrystalline samples. The method involves reconstructing a voxel map containing an orientation distribution function in each voxel of a bulk 3D sample. By choosing a particular kind of basis functions, we can effectively utilize non-negativity in orientation space for samples with sparse texture. This enables us to achieve stable solutions at high angular resolutions where the problem would otherwise be underdetermined. This method differs from established approaches by not relying on a peak-finding step. It is therefore applicable to sample systems consisting of small and highly mosaic crystalline domains that are not handled well by these methods. We demonstrate the new approach using data from a shot-peened martensite sample where we are able to map the twinning microstructure in the interior of a bulk sample without resolving the individual lattice domains. We also demonstrate the approach on a piece of gastropod shell with a mosaic microstructure. The results suggest that, by utilizing the sparsity of the texture, the experiment can be carried out using only a single rotation axis, unlike previous demonstrations of texture and tensor tomography.
Image processing and software Anders Kaestner, Matteo Busi, Florencia Malamud Neutron Imaging from Applied Materials Science to Industry, 2024
Engineering Efthymios Polatidis, Florencia Malamud, Markus Strobl Neutron Imaging from Applied Materials Science to Industry, 2024
Manufacturing Efthymios Polatidis, Florencia Malamud, Pavel Trtik Neutron Imaging from Applied Materials Science to Industry, 2024
Natural heritage Eberhard Lehmann, David Mannes, Florencia Malamud Neutron Imaging from Applied Materials Science to Industry, 2024
Nuclear materials Pavel Trtik, Robert Zboray, Liliana I Duarte, Okan Yetik, Florencia Malamud Neutron Imaging from Applied Materials Science to Industry, 2024