Standardization of post-mortem photoelectron spectroscopy studies of battery interphases: from cell assembly to data analysis
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 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

Författare

C. N. Herrera

Université Grenoble Alpes

Institut Laue-Langevin

Federico G. Capone

SOLEIL Synchrotron

Roberto Fantin

Le Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)

Université Grenoble Alpes

François Cadiou

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)

Nataliia Mozhzhukhina

SEEL Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory

Chalmers, Fysik, Materialfysik

Quentin Jacquet

Université Grenoble Alpes

Jackson Flowers

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Stefan Fuchs

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

K. Edstrom

Uppsala universitet

Andrew Naylor

Uppsala universitet

Lucia Perez Ramirez

SOLEIL Synchrotron

A. Ponrouch

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

D. S. Tchitchekova

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (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

Le Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)

Shatakshi Saxena

Le Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)

Thanh Loan Lai

Le Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)

Jean Pascal Rueff

SOLEIL Synchrotron

P. Norby

Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU)

Sandrine Lyonnard

Université Grenoble Alpes

Anass Benayad

Université Grenoble Alpes

Le Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (CEA)

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Journal of Energy Storage

2352-152X (eISSN)

Vol. 170 122820

Battery Interface Genome - Materials Acceleration Platform - BIG-MAP

Europeiska kommissionen (EU) (EC/H2020/957189), 2020-09-01 -- 2023-08-31.

Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)

Materialkemi

Drivkrafter

Hållbar utveckling

Styrkeområden

Energi

DOI

10.1016/j.est.2026.122820

Mer information

Senast uppdaterat

2026-06-23