Listening to Batteries

Did you know that batteries emit sound as they are charged and discharged? Acoustic emission measurements collected during electrochemical tests, combined with advanced imaging techniques such as transmission X‐ray microscopy, provide a window into the internal workings of battery materials during energy storage cycles. Chemomechanical information regarding phase changes, microscopic fracture and reversibility, obtained by listening closely, is used to design higher energy density, longer‐lasting lithium batteries.

Frank P. McGrogan, Bohua Wen, Ananya R. Balakrishna, Mark Wolf, Ping‐Chun Tsai, Jordi Cabana and Yet‐Ming Chiang