Electro-chemo-mechanical coupling behaviors of energy storage materials

Both batteries and supercapacitors involve electrolytic ion insertion (or intercalation) into the electrodes, which often induces volume change. There is a strong correlation between the amount of electrode volume change induced by the ion insertion and its electrochemical performance (energy density; power density and cycle life). However, this mechano-electrochemical relationship is complex and intertwined. Our group monitors the current-strain correlation via operando AFM at the local level (nanometer scale) to investigate electro-chemo-mechanical coupling behaviors of the insertion-type electrodes.

Selected ref: Wan-Yu Tsai, Ruocun Wang, Shelby Boyd, Veronica Augustyn and Nina Balke, "Probing local electrochemistry via mechanical cyclic voltammetry curves" Nano Energy, 81, 105592 (2021)