Scientists probe the chemistry of a single battery electrode particle both inside and out

(DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory) Cracks and chemical reactions on a battery particle's surface can degrade performance, and the particle's ability to absorb and release lithium ions also changes over time. Scientists stuck a single particle the size of a red blood cell to the tip of a microscopic needle and probed it with X-rays to see how interior and surface changes influence each other.