New X-Ray microscopy technique images nanoscale workings of rechargeable batteries

There's a new tool in the push to engineer rechargeable batteries that last longer and charge more quickly. An X-ray microscopy technique recently developed at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has given scientists the ability to image nanoscale changes inside lithium-ion battery particles as they charge and discharge. The real-time images provide a new way to learn how batteries work, and how to improve them.