Development of 4D Operando Optical Scattering Microscopy to Track Ion Dynamics and Phase Transition in Battery Electrodes

Using recent developments in optical scattering microscopy in the Rao Group to track and quantify ion dynamics and phase transitions in battery materials directly at a single particle level, with sub-ms time-resolution and sub-20nm spatial resolution. We envision that this new microscopy methodology, with ability to provide real-time insights into nano-scale electronic and structural phase transitions, coupled with its straightforward lab-based implementation, could see it become an indispensable tool for high-throughput material discovery and mechanistic studies. The project will build on this breakthrough and extend the methodology to include all three spatial dimensions (+1 temporal) via use of quantitative phase imaging, which will enable the study of ion flow within the complex three-dimensional structures common to battery electrodes.