Apparatus for in situ x-ray study of electrochemical cells
First Claim
1. Apparatus for in situ x-ray study of electrochemical cells which comprises an electrochemical cell comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an interposed electrolyte/separator element in contact with said electrodes, means for mounting said electrochemical cell in the path of incident x-radiation, said mounting means comprising means enclosing said electrochemical cell which includes at least one window element for transmission of said x-radiation to incidence upon said cell, said enclosing means comprising first and second opposed electrically-conductive members electrically isolated from one another and respectively providing positive and negative electrical terminals characterized in that said mounting means further comprisesa) means for electrically connecting said positive electrode to said first conductive member and said negative electrode to said second conductive member;
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for monitoring structural changes of an electrode in a rechargeable battery include an in situ x-ray study electrochemical cell holder (30) comprising top and bottom cell holder members (32, 34) including at least one beryllium window element (36) for transmission of diffractometer x-radiation. A rechargeable battery cell (43) mounted within the x-ray cell holder enclosure comprises an electrolyte/separator element (68) interposed between positive and negative electrodes (64, 66). A current collector element (70) formed of an electrically-conductive open-mesh grid is disposed between the positive electrode and the separator to enable ion-conducting contact of the electrode and separator while maintaining electrical continuity between the electrode and an external x-ray cell holder terminal (54). As a result of this arrangement, the positive electrode need not contact the window element to establish an electrical battery circuit, but may be sufficiently spaced from the window to avoid electrolytic corrosion of the beryllium element. The in situ x-ray electrochemical cell holder and battery cell structure allow for continuous monitoring of the structural changes in electrode materials during charge/discharge cycling.
51 Citations
20 Claims
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1. Apparatus for in situ x-ray study of electrochemical cells which comprises an electrochemical cell comprising a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and an interposed electrolyte/separator element in contact with said electrodes, means for mounting said electrochemical cell in the path of incident x-radiation, said mounting means comprising means enclosing said electrochemical cell which includes at least one window element for transmission of said x-radiation to incidence upon said cell, said enclosing means comprising first and second opposed electrically-conductive members electrically isolated from one another and respectively providing positive and negative electrical terminals characterized in that said mounting means further comprises
a) means for electrically connecting said positive electrode to said first conductive member and said negative electrode to said second conductive member; - and
b) means for maintaining said cell spaced from and out of contact with said window element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus comprising:
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a) an in situ x-rays study electrochemical cell holder comprising; 1) a cell holder bottom; and 2) a cell holder top operatively attached to said bottom, said top having a beryllium window; and b) a rechargeable battery cell structure comprising; 1) a positive electrode element; 2) a negative electrode element; 3) an electrolyte/separator element disposed between said positive and negative electrode elements; and 4) a current collector element disposed between said positive electrode element and said electrolyte/separator element, said current collector element being formed of an electrically-conductive open-mesh grid, said positive electrode element facing toward and spaced from said beryllium window said negative electrode element electrically contacting said bottom, and said current collector element electrically contacting said top. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification