Understanding Disordered Rock Salt Cathodes via Operando µSR

Disordered rock-salt (DRX) materials of the form Li2MnO3-xFx are a promising, Co-free, future chemistry for electric vehicle applications. Our electrochemical (etc.) investigations have shown that Zr-doping can significantly improve the cycling performance. By combining operando µSR and targeted ex situ measurements with and without Zr-doping we will investigate why this change occurs. Importantly, µSR data gathered on parent materials reflect only on material properties and does not inform on how the complex Li+ diffusivity behaviour evolves while the battery is working. We therefore aim to establish via operando measurements the influence of d0 Zr dopant on short-range Li+ diffusivity properties in DRX materials, alongside the kinetically limiting voltage regions in Li2MnO2F which are linked to rapid capacity decay.