Application of NR for research in electrochemical systems

The neutron radiography (NR) technique has been applied to high temperature ion conducting materials such as Li1.33Ti1.67O4 and Ca0.95Li0.1WO4 in order to visualize the movement of lithium ions within the material. After electrolysis DC current was passed through these oxides prepared with different isotope ratios (6Li/7Li), a set of NR images was obtained which verified the lithium ion conduction in the oxides. It was also clearly shown that the transport number of lithium ions in such oxides can be accurately determined by digitizing and analyzing the NR images. In addition, some investigation was carried out using the NR technique to see the lithium distribution in a lithium battery before and after discharge. The results indicated that NR can be used to clarify the local discharging efficiency in a battery and/or to investigate the reversibility of lithium rechargeable batteries. (orig.)