How quickly a battery electrode decays depends on properties of individual particles in the battery – at first. Later on, the network of particles matters more.
The work sheds light on the web of hydrogen bonds that gives water its strange properties, which play a vital role in many chemical and biological processes.
They created a comprehensive picture of how the same chemical processes that give these cathodes their high capacity are also linked to changes in atomic structure that sap performance.
The latest advance from a research collaboration with industry could dramatically accelerate the development of sturdier batteries for fast-charging electric vehicles.
Stanford postdoctoral researcher Stephen Dongmin Kang, left, demonstrates how he works at a modular glovebox workstation while Stanford postdoc Jungjin Park works at a neighboring computer in a SLAC battery lab.