Better batteries to give e-mobility a push
Electron diffraction provides the analytics to see the yet unseen
Energy storage technology is growing extremely fast
...and at the same time changing rapidly.
There are the critical success factors for any e-mobility business to succeed. The number of electric cars and their need for high-performance batteries increases constantly. More and new research is required to identify and overcome the bottlenecks. The faster the better. Research labs, universities and manufacturers are working to drive battery technology to the next level. They focus on energy density, range, charging time, weight and size, as well as suitability for everyday use.
Battery performance is determined by the properties embedded in their atomic structure. To understand the structure-properties relationship, material scientists and engineers need to be able to take a look at the nano-scale levels; the more precisely such structures are understood, the better are the chances to tailor the material properties. Established methods reach their limits. Electron diffraction, also known as 3D-ED, microED or nanocrystallography is the method of choice.
The challenge
Limited amounts of material (few tens of mg) - Crystals too small for an atomic structure analysis - Light cations (H+, Li+) in combination with heavier metals - Crystal structures too complex for XRPD
The solution
Electron diffraction obtains precise and accurate structural information of nano-crystalline particles, while providing enough information to even “see” those light atoms moving within the frame of the heavier atoms.
ADVANTAGES OF ELECTRON DIFFRACTION
Accurate structure determination at the nano- scale
Various States of charges (SOCs) structurally characterized
Exact and precise determination of light cations (Li+)
Complex structures with low symmetry can be solved
Structural features are preserved with low dose ED experiments
Higher oxidation states do not alter the cathode
Superior sub-micron molecular analytics for your battery chemistry compounds
ELDICO’s Electron Diffractometer, the ELDICO ED-1, is a novel analytical instrument for electron crystallography, enabling researchers to investigate nano-crystalline samples with particle size from 10 to 1000 nm. This enables industrial and scientific researchers to characterise yet unmeasurable nanocrystalline particles. ELDICO ED-1 is able to perform fast and precisely on any sort of compounds and offers ready-to-install instruments that produce high-quality structural information from nanocrystals directly and deliver reliable results within a few hours, at up to 70% less cost per measurement. The device was developed by scientists, for scientists and is therefore very intuitive to operate. The unique patented system enables researchers to access, within minutes of work, those nano-crystalline sample where structural elucidation is required.
About ELDICO
ELDICO Scientific AG (The Electron Diffraction Company) is a Swiss technology and service company founded in 2019 and based in the Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), a world-leading research institute for natural sciences and engineering. ELDICO develops, manufactures and commercializes electron diffractometers , i.e. novel analytical instruments for electron based crystallography, enabling to investigate nano-crystalline samples. ELDICO will launch the first instrument specifically designed for nano-crystallographic investigations. Proof-of-concept was achieved in 2018 (ETH Zurich, C-CINA Basel) as part of a Nano-Argovia project of the Swiss Nanoscience Institute (SNI). It was published in 2018 and awarded Top 5 "Breakthrough of the Year 2018" by the leading science magazine SCIENCE. In 2020 among other public recognitions on Swiss and EU level, ELDICO took 2nd place in the prestigious Pioneer Prize awarded by Technopark Zurich and the Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB). ELDICO’s clients are industrial and academic researchers in large and fast growing industries such as the pharmaceutical industry, the electromobility, and the advanced materials / MOF sector. The company partners with leading engineering companies and component suppliers among Dectris and Excillum to deliver superior performance. www.eldico-scientific.com