A lab-based X-Ray diffractometer with fast time resolution for operando battery studies

The oprando X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique is a crucial characterization tool that enables the real-time monitoring of structural changes in materials under reaction conditions. This work introduces a lab-based diffractometer capable of capturing a full XRD spectrum within 10 seconds. The instrument features several advanced capabilities: (1) It utilizes a Ga-In alloy metal-jet X-ray source to achieve high X-ray flux, with a brightness reaching up to 3.2×10¹⁰ photons/(s×mm²×mrad²) ; (2) it employs an ellipsoidal mirror with multilayer coating to produce quasi-parallel monochromatic light, characterized by a divergence of 0.6 mrad and an energy resolution of 5.9×10⁻³; (3) it is equipped with a high-efficiency, high signal-to-noise ratio Pilatus 3R 1M detector for collecting diffraction signals. These features enable its powerful application in studying rapid phase transition processes in Li-ion batteries, especially under extreme fast charge-discharge conditions. The data quality obtained is comparable to that of synchrotron radiation XRD.