Probing Electron Transfer Orbitals Selectively at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>LiCoO</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mm

Conductive carbon additives in lithium-ion battery cathodes significantly increase electron transport, facilitating rapid charging. However, quantifying this improvement remains challenging. Momentum distribution of annihilating electron-positron pairs offers a powerful approach to selectively probe the O 2p orbitals in LiCoO_{2} microparticles and the 2p_{z} carbon orbitals in the conductive carbon additives. By analyzing this momentum distribution, we obtain the amplification of subtle electron momentum distribution signals from carbon π bonds. Ab initio modeling of LiCoO_{2} and various topologies of carbon structures reproducing the experimental momentum distribution helps to quantify the fraction of positron annihilation occurring within the carbon structures. Our theoretical results combined with earlier experimental findings reveal potential charge transport pathways in the LiCoO_{2}/C composite by quantifying the spectral contributions of electron transfer orbitals, which constitutes the nanoscale circuitry enabling efficient electron transport in battery cathodes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2026-01-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/9gfy-lxbp
Primary Topic
Muon and positron interactions and applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Probing Electron Transfer Orbitals Selectively at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>LiCoO</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mm

Ekaterina Laakso, J. Kuriplach, Ilja Makkonen, Gioele Pagot et al.
Physical Review Letters
Muon and positron interactions and applications
article

Probing Electron Transfer Orbitals Selectively at <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>LiCoO</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mm

Ekaterina Laakso, J. Kuriplach, Ilja Makkonen, Gioele Pagot, Anonymous, Bernardo Barbiellini, Rafael Omar Ferragut, Vito Di Noto
article en

Abstract

Conductive carbon additives in lithium-ion battery cathodes significantly increase electron transport, facilitating rapid charging. However, quantifying this improvement remains challenging. Momentum distribution of annihilating electron-positron pairs offers a powerful approach to selectively probe the O 2p orbitals in LiCoO_{2} microparticles and the 2p_{z} carbon orbitals in the conductive carbon additives. By analyzing this momentum distribution, we obtain the amplification of subtle electron momentum distribution signals from carbon π bonds. Ab initio modeling of LiCoO_{2} and various topologies of carbon structures reproducing the experimental momentum distribution helps to quantify the fraction of positron annihilation occurring within the carbon structures. Our theoretical results combined with earlier experimental findings reveal potential charge transport pathways in the LiCoO_{2}/C composite by quantifying the spectral contributions of electron transfer orbitals, which constitutes the nanoscale circuitry enabling efficient electron transport in battery cathodes.

Physical Review LettersVol. 136(9)
University of Helsinki (FI), University of Padua (IT), Charles University (CZ), Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano (IT), Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (FI), Universidad del Noreste (MX), Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 83%
Muon and positron interactions and applications
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