January_February_2022_AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2 2 8 T he market for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries is going through a pe- riod of rapid growth due to their increased adoption for energy storage and supply. In particular, Li-ion batter- ies are central to power provision for electric vehicles (EVs) and portable de- vices because they offer high charge storage capacity for their size and good charge/discharge cycling stability over a relatively long timeframe. The increase in Li-ion battery use has put battery production, perfor- mance, and safety under greater scru- tiny. Battery lifetime is still relatively short, especially for power-hungry ma- chines such as EVs, primarily because degradation processes within the elec- trodes and the electrolyte of the most commonly used batteries limit the max- imum number of charge/discharge cy- cles the battery can be subjected to before it requires replacement. There are also concerns regarding the safe- ty of Li-ion batteries containing liquid electrolytes, as they are vulnerable to overheating and catching fire if they short circuit or are damaged. Improving battery performance depends on gain- ing a greater understanding of the deg- radation processes, optimizing cathode and anode material com- positions, and develop- ing safer designs. To address these challenges, battery de- velopers and manufac- turers require various analytical techniques, in- cluding elemental analy- sis, chromatography, mass spectrometry, and mate- rial characterization such as electron microscopy and x-ray spectroscopy. This article discusses the application of inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plas- ma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for studying the role of elemental analy- sis in Li-ion battery research, develop- ment, and production. We look at how these techniques can provide highly sensitive, robust, and flexible elemen- tal analysis at every step of the battery workflow, from measuring the purity of lithium raw materials to quality assur- ance of the final battery composition. IMPORTANCE OF ELEMENTAL PURITY Lithium (Li) is primarily sourced from mining petalite, lepidolite, and spodumene ores or extracting it from brine. The largest mineral and brine re- serves are located in Chile, Australia, TRACE ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERY MATERIALS The benefits of trace elemental analysis to improve the performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles are explored. TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT Lithium-ion batteries offer high charge storage capacity for their size and good charge/discharge cycling stability over a relatively long time period.