Battery knowledge · Materials analysis and post-mortem

X-ray computed tomography

Taking X-ray images of an object from hundreds of angles and reconstructing them into a 3D volume, without opening it. On whole cells it reveals jelly-roll deformation, electrode overhang, weld defects and foreign particles; at higher resolution it maps electrode porosity, and fast synchrotron CT has filmed thermal runaway as it happens.

Abbreviation
CT
Also called
X-ray CT, micro-CT, nano-CT, CT scan

Example

Materials analysis and post-mortem: an example situation

Surface and bulk measurements may find different compositions in the same electrode without contradiction.

Read X-ray computed tomography alongside Focused ion beam SEM in this context. A scanning electron microscope paired with an ion beam that mills material away at a chosen spot. It cuts clean cross-sections through particles and coatings, lifts out thin slices for TEM, and by alternately milling and imaging rebuilds an electrode’s microstructure in 3D for porosity and tortuosity.

Use in Lemonergy

Connect results with scale and specimen preparation.

This is a reference concept. No executable Lemonergy block has been verified for this term.

References & further reading

Further reading on this topic

These sources provide broader context; they are not presented as citations for every statement in this entry.

  1. Advanced characterization techniques for solid state lithium battery research

    Yuxuan Xiang, Xia Li, Yongqiang Cheng, Xueliang Sun, Yong Yang · Materials Today · 2020

    Topic background · X-ray, solid-state NMR and neutron methods in solid-state battery research.