Public Research Seminar by Sustainable Energy and Environment Thrust, HKUST(GZ) - Revealing battery chemistry evolution with operando infrared fiber spectroscopy

As global energy demands escalate, and the use of non-renewable resources becomes untenable, renewable resources and electric vehicles require far better batteries to stabilize the new energy landscape. To maximize battery performance and lifetime, understanding and monitoring the fundamental mechanisms that govern their operation throughout their lifetime is crucial. Unfortunately, from the moment batteries are sealed until the end of their life, they remain a "black box", and our understanding of the health status of commercial batteries is limited to measurements of current, voltage, temperature, and impedance, at the cell or even module level during use.

However, the landscape has recently evolved with the integration of optical fiber-based sensors into batteries, providing unprecedented insights into their thermal and mechanical properties. A significant advance in this trajectory is the successful integration of Infrared Fiber Evanescent Wave Spectroscopy (IR-FEWS) into commercial batteries. This achievement has enabled real-time monitoring of battery chemistry dynamics during operation, providing the battery community with a powerful new tool to tackle key challenges in developing novel electrolytes and optimizing formation protocols; factors that critically influence battery lifetime and, ultimately, its environmental impact.