TY  - CONF
AU  - Erkes, Rebecca
AU  - Ahmed, Jehad
AU  - Dzieciol, Krzysztof
AU  - Durmus, Yasin Emre
AU  - Tempel, Hermann
AU  - Windmüller, Anna
AU  - Raijmakers, Luc
AU  - Eichel, Rüdiger-A.
TI  - Connecting the Dots: Combining Tomography and Diffraction Techniques to Investigate Nucleation Behavior on Zn-Metal Electrodes
PB  - RWTH Aachen
M1  - FZJ-2026-00470
PY  - 2025
AB  - The continued expansion of renewable energy sources resulted in an increased demand for safe and affordable energy storage solutions with high volumetric energy density. Alternative battery systems, such as zinc-air batteries (ZABs) and zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) not only use affordable, safe and highly abundant materials, but their high theoretical capacity and volumetric energy density make them well suited for grid and long-term storage. However, their cyclability and efficiency are negatively impacted by the metallic zinc anodes inherent shape change, produced by uneven deposition and dendritic growth. To advance the more widespread application of zinc-based batteries it is therefore crucial to understand the mechanisms behind nucleation and causes for dendrite formation on the electrode surface.This work presents a correlative study combining tomography and diffraction methods to gain valuable insights into deposition processes at the zinc anode surface. With the information gained from X-ray computed tomography (XCT), diffraction contrast tomography (DCT) and electron back-scatter diffraction (EBSD) conclusions about the impact of the substrate crystal structure on zinc nucleation and dendritic growth could be drawn. The analyzed symmetrical model system included wire electrodes to minimize attenuation by reducing the amount of highly absorbing material in the field of view. The tip of the observed electrode is characterized ex situ using DCT and EBSD to capture the pristine state of the crystal structure. The pristine morphology and its evolution are recorded by means of a custom 2D/3D in-operando XCT imaging protocol to observe deposition and dissolution processes. In post-mortem scans, the state of the electrode is examined using the three techniques to evaluate the effects of electrochemical processes on the morphology and crystal structure. By combining these methods, the locations of nucleation sites and the development of deposits on the electrode surface could be correlated with the initial crystal structure, providing insights into the mechanisms of shape change and dendrite formation.
T2  - The 76th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry
CY  - 7 Sep 2025 - 12 Sep 2025, Mainz (Germany)
Y2  - 7 Sep 2025 - 12 Sep 2025
M2  - Mainz, Germany
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)24
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1050726
ER  -