A study on the interior microstructures of working Sn particle electrode of Li-ion batteries by in situ X-ray transmission microscopy

The interior microstructures of Sn particles developed during electrochemical lithiation/de-lithiation have been revealed by in situ X-ray transmission microscopy (TXM). The Li-alloying particles exhibited the formation of core–shell internal structure along with crack formation within the lithiated zone during the first lithiation. The extent and speed of the expansion process was shown to be a strong function of particle size. Upon completion of the first de-lithiaiton, the particles only partially (∼10%) contracted, while re-crystallization of Sn continued to take place within the interior of the particles during a following idle period. The re-crystallization process alleviated the pulverization problem and led to the formation of porous Sn particles, which exhibited remarkably attenuated dimensional variations during subsequent cycles.