Large-Format Electrochemical Cell for Non-Aqueous Battery Materials Research: Challenges, Complexities, and Opportunities

A large-format electrochemical cell is described that is hermetically sealed and can easily be assembled in a laboratory glove box. The cell is especially useful for non-aqueous battery materials research, of which Li-ion and Na-ion battery materials research are highlighted, as the cell can accommodate gram-quantities of electrode materials, enabling the application of characterization techniques on post-cycled materials, such as structure determination by Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction patterns and surface area analysis by nitrogen gas adsorption. The cell also enables the bulk synthesis of new materials by non-aqueous electrochemical synthesis routes. These capabilities are demonstrated by the electrochemical synthesis of Li 15 Si 4 for crystal structure determination, the measurement of the surface area change in Si-based Li-ion battery anode materials during cycling, and the synthesis of bulk quantities of novel electrode materials via electrochemical ion-exchange.