Unraveling Chemical Origins of Dendrite Formation in Zinc-Ion Batteries via In Situ/Operando X-Ray Spectroscopy and Imaging

Unraveling Chemical Origins of Dendrite Formation in Zinc-Ion Batteries via In Situ/Operando X-Ray Spectroscopy and Imaging

In-situ scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) and spectro-ptychography are used to observe Zn dendrites and their chemical composition and distribution on the Zn surface during the stripping/plating progress are revealed.

Pourbaix Machine Learning Framework Identifies Acidic Water Oxidation Catalysts Exhibiting Suppressed Ruthenium Dissolution

Pourbaix Machine Learning Framework Identifies Acidic Water Oxidation Catalysts Exhibiting Suppressed Ruthenium Dissolution

A machine-learning-assisted computational pipeline is developed, and the Pourbaix energy for 2070 new oxides is screened to assess their electrochemical stability under acidic oxygen evolution reaction.

Superionic Conducting Vacancy-Rich Β-Li3n Electrolyte for Stable Cycling of All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries

Superionic Conducting Vacancy-Rich Β-Li3n Electrolyte for Stable Cycling of All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries

A superionic conducting, highly lithium-compatible, and air-stable vacancy-rich β-Li3N solid-state electrolyte is reported. It exhibited a high ionic conductivity, exceeding almost all the reported nitride-based solid-state electrolytes.

Nominally Identical Microplastic Models Differ Greatly in Their Particle-Cell Interactions

Nominally Identical Microplastic Models Differ Greatly in Their Particle-Cell Interactions

The nominally identical polystyrene microspheres from eight different manufacturers were significantly different in their ζ-potential, thus leading to different particle-cell interactions.

Single-Phase Local-High-Concentration Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium-Metal Batteries

Single-Phase Local-High-Concentration Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium-Metal Batteries

A class of locally high-concentration solid polymer electrolytes based on polymer blends is designed and the assembled cells can achieve a cycle life of 450 cycles.

A Novel Electrolyte for Long-Life Li Batteries

A Novel Electrolyte for Long-Life Li Batteries

The cell assembled with this composite polymer electrolyte shows a prolonged cycle life of 1000 cycles at 1C.  

The spectromicroscopy (SM) facility at CLS has one beam line (10ID-1), enabling users to perform studies in the fields of polymer science, environmental science, and biological applications to novel material design and magnetic imaging. 

 

CLS-SM consists of an Apple II Elliptically Polarizing Undulator (EPU), a plane grating  monochromator (PGM), two branch lines, and two microscopes:

  •          Scanning Transmission X-ray Microscope (STXM)
  •          X-ray Photoemission Electron Microscope (X-PEEM)

 


Quicklinks

 

List of Publications »

  • Zhang, Chunyang; Ngunjiri, Robert; Gibson, Timothy M.; Li, Chenyu; Higgins, Drew et al. (2026). Watching copper catalysts evolve: Temporally resolved in situ scanning transmission X-ray microscopy during electrochemical CO₂ reduction. Electrochimica Acta 578, 150095. 10.1016/j.electacta.2026.150095.
  • Dong, Yongqi; Zhu, Keran; Chen, Liang; Wang, Zimeng; Tong, Yajun et al. (2026). Design and Development of the Soft X-ray Ptychographic Nanoscopy Beamline at the Hefei Advanced Light Facility. Photon Science . 10.1021/photonsci.6c00047.
  • Dutta, Animesh; Omessi, Saar; Feng, Renfei; Zhou, Jigang; Wang, Jian et al. (2026). Exposing the (110) Facet of Single-Crystal LiMn 2 O 4 Which Suppresses Surface Reconstruction and Enhances High-Temperature Cycling Stability. Journal of the Electrochemical Society 173(19) , 190509. 10.1149/1945-7111/aead2d.

Latest News »