Understanding the electrochemical processes responsible for energy storage in batteries is critical for designing of next-generation batteries. The conventional laboratory-scale characterization instruments provide limited information required for better understanding of electrochemical reaction mechanisms. Synchrotron radiations have very high brilliance and broad energy range extending from far-IR through the hard X-ray region. The availability of synchrotron radiation is driving technical and theoretical advances in scattering and spectroscopic techniques from last couple of decades. These advances in synchrotron radiation-based characterization techniques have made it possible to study the underpinning issues of energy storage materials. An electrochemical road map based on much more knowledge-driven approach can be drawn by utilizing synchrotron-based element-specific spectroscopic as well as scattering techniques. Herein, we introduce various scenarios where synchrotron radiation-based characterization methods provide inherent advantages and flexibility in obtaining detailed mechanistic information along with structural studies.
Part of the book: X-ray Characterization of Nanostructured Energy Materials by Synchrotron Radiation