title: Degradation of Li/S Battery Electrodes On 3D Current Collectors Studied Using X-ray Phase Contrast Tomography.
abstract: Lithium/sulphur batteries are promising candidates for future energy storage systems, mainly due to their high potential capacity. However low sulphur utilization and capacity fading hinder practical realizations. In order to improve understanding of the system, we investigate Li/S electrode morphology changes for different ageing steps, using X-ray phase contrast tomography. Thereby we find a strong decrease of sulphur loading after the first cycle, and a constant loading of about 15% of the initial loading afterwards. While cycling, the mean sulphur particle diameters decrease in a qualitatively similar fashion as the discharge capacity fades. The particles spread, migrate into the current collector and accumulate in the upper part again. Simultaneously sulphur particles lose contact area with the conducting network but regain it after ten cycles because their decreasing size results in higher surface areas. Since the capacity still decreases, this regain could be associated with effects such as surface area passivation and increasing charge transfer resistance.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for MEMS Applications, Department of Microsystems Engineering - IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zielke
authors.affiliation: French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Agency (CEA), Laboratory of Innovation for New Energy Technologies and Nanomaterials (LITEN), 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barchasz
authors.affiliation: 1] French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Agency (CEA), Laboratory of Innovation for New Energy Technologies and Nanomaterials (LITEN), 17 Rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9, France [2] University Grenoble Alpes, LEPMI, F-38000 Grenoble, France [3] CNRS, LEPMI, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Waluś
authors.affiliation: 1] University Grenoble Alpes, LEPMI, F-38000 Grenoble, France [2] CNRS, LEPMI, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alloin
authors.affiliation: 1] University Grenoble Alpes, LEPMI, F-38000 Grenoble, France [2] CNRS, LEPMI, F-38000 Grenoble, France.
authors.forename: J-C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Leprêtre
authors.affiliation: Institute of Stochastics, Ulm University, Helmholtzstr. 18, 89069 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spettl
authors.affiliation: Institute of Stochastics, Ulm University, Helmholtzstr. 18, 89069 Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilger
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Manke
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Banhart
authors.affiliation: 1] Laboratory for MEMS Applications, Department of Microsystems Engineering - IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg, Germany [2] HSG-IMIT Institut für Mikro- und Informationstechnik der Hahn-Schickard-Gesellschaft e.V., Georges-Koehler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zengerle
authors.affiliation: 1] Laboratory for MEMS Applications, Department of Microsystems Engineering - IMTEK, University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg, Germany [2] FIT, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 21, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thiele