- Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum, led by Prof. Dr. Tong Li, together with scientists from the Helmholtz Institute Ulm and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, investigated the hypothesis that lithium loss contributes to reduced capacity and shorter battery lifetime. The research team employed atom probe tomography to create highly precise three-dimensional maps of the elements with sub-nanometer resolution. The results suggested that lithium ions are indeed incorporated into the copper current collector. This lithium loss increases with the number of charge cycles, even in state-of-the-art battery technologies.

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