Oxygen Redox RIXS Signatures of Li/Na-Ion Battery Cathode Materials

Today, batteries present an intricate part of everyday life, powering everything from hand-held electronics to an ever increasing number of vehicles. As such, the importance of improving the performance of existing battery materials as well as finding suitable, more sustainable alternatives has only increased over recent years. Particularly, this pertains to the materials used in battery cathode. Here, I present a focused look into the effects of oxygen connected to the electrochemistry of three cathode materials: A lithium rich disordered-rocksalt material, a nickel rich layered oxide, and a manganese rich sodium ion battery material. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) were utilized to investigate the electronic structure of these materials, specifically focusing on the effects on the contained oxygen and its participation in the anionic redox reaction.