Operando RIXS study of O-redox in Li-ion cathodes

Oxygen redox in specific oxide cathodes for Li-ion batteries enables higher energy densities, yet the precise nature of the oxidized oxygen species remains difficult to identify. While resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) has emerged as a powerful tool to probe oxidized oxygen in Li-ion cathodes, the currently employed ex situ measurements face challenges in tracking the real-time evolution of oxidized oxygen species, highlighting the need for operando O-K edge RIXS measurements. Recently, we conducted preliminary operando RIXS experiments at the ESRF ID32 beamline, disqualifying the liquid electrolyte approach but validating a promising all-solid-state battery approach for acquiring O-K edge RIXS data on cathode electrodes during (dis)charge (proposal MA-6569, see report). Following prior study, this proposal aims to advance the operando RIXS experiment with optimized cell design for better RIXS signal, which would constitute pioneering work in the battery-research field.