A research group led by Professor Yoshiharu Uchimoto and Assistant Professor Yuki Orikasa (currently Associate Professor of Ritsumeikan University) of Kyoto University, in collaboration with Ritsumeikan University and others, visualizes the non-uniformity of chemical reactions that occur in the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. It can contribute to the practical design of lithium-ion batteries and improve battery performance. Especially, the non-uniformity of reaction becomes remarkable in large batteries, so it has a large capacity for automobiles and power storage. The performance of lithium-ion batteries is expected to improve.

 The non-uniform reaction of the electrodes means that some substances are not being used effectively, which affects the performance of the battery.The research group conducted "X-ray absorption spectroscopy" that can acquire two-dimensional data, and established a method for measuring electron conductivity and ion conductivity in the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries.As a result of analyzing the electrodes of multiple batteries with different performances by this method, it was found that the reaction non-uniformity inside the electrodes is determined by ionic conduction, which greatly affects the performance.

 Lithium-ion batteries have become widespread as batteries for mobile phones, smartphones, and notebook computers, and in recent years, demand for large electric vehicles and power storage has increased.It has been predicted that the reaction non-uniformity phenomenon inside the battery is involved as one of the factors that influence the performance of the battery, but there have been few tools for experimental verification and analysis. ..Professor Uchimoto hopes that it will be useful for further improving the performance of lithium-ion batteries in the future.

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