Standardization of post-mortem photoelectron spectroscopy studies of battery interphases: from cell assembly to data analysis
Journal article, 2026
Understanding the chemical structure of the solid electrolyte interphase that forms and evolves during lithium-ion battery cycling is critical for advancing battery technology. This complex task often requires the use of post-mortem protocols to extract the electrodes in controlled states of charge and prepare them for further characterization and analysis. Over decades of research and optimization, the scientific community has established and shared post-mortem workflow protocols tailored to specific techniques. However, numerous sources of artifacts can disturb this workflow, introducing experimental uncertainties at various stages, from electrode manufacturing to data interpretation. Here we present the results of a round-robin inter-laboratory study using post-mortem X-ray photoemission spectroscopy to characterize the solid electrolyte interphase formed on graphite electrode after cycling in two different electrolytes. Several leading European research teams, expert in battery manufacturing and characterization by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, participated in a meticulously designed post-mortem workflow. The goal was to identify the sources of consistency and disparity in the results and their impact on the scientific conclusions. Moreover, human-induced bias and errors were quantified throughout key steps, from cell assembly to photoemission core level peak fitting and interpretation. Based on our findings, we offer key recommendations for identifying and minimizing sources of artifacts in the analysis of the solid electrolyte interphase chemical composition. Effectively addressing these challenges is essential for improving both the performance and longevity of batteries.
SEI
Round-robin
XPS
Post-mortem
Author
C. N. Herrera
Grenoble Alpes University
Institut Laue-Langevin
Federico G. Capone
SOLEIL Synchrotron
Roberto Fantin
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Grenoble Alpes University
François Cadiou
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
Nataliia Mozhzhukhina
SEEL Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory
Chalmers, Physics, Materials Physics
Quentin Jacquet
Grenoble Alpes University
Jackson Flowers
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Stefan Fuchs
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
K. Edstrom
Uppsala University
Andrew Naylor
Uppsala University
Lucia Perez Ramirez
SOLEIL Synchrotron
A. Ponrouch
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
D. S. Tchitchekova
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)
Giorgio Baraldi
Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA)
Elixabete Ayerbe
Centro de Investigacion Tecnológica En Electroquimica
Christian Wölke
Forschungszentrum Münster
Isidora Cekic-Laskovic
Forschungszentrum Münster
Martin Winter
Forschungszentrum Münster
Khawla Zrikem
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Shatakshi Saxena
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Thanh Loan Lai
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Jean Pascal Rueff
SOLEIL Synchrotron
P. Norby
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Sandrine Lyonnard
Grenoble Alpes University
Anass Benayad
Grenoble Alpes University
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Journal of Energy Storage
2352-152X (eISSN)
Vol. 170 122820Battery Interface Genome - Materials Acceleration Platform - BIG-MAP
European Commission (EC) (EC/H2020/957189), 2020-09-01 -- 2023-08-31.
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Materials Chemistry
Driving Forces
Sustainable development
Areas of Advance
Energy
DOI
10.1016/j.est.2026.122820