Why particle shape matters too…
…and how to analyze it with automated optical imaging
If you’re spending time with family this holiday season, chances are you might be doing some jigsaw puzzles! In these puzzles, each unique piece contributes to the complete picture: you can only finish it by fitting the right shapes together.
It’s a similar story in battery manufacturing. Particle morphology – that is, the shape and structure of particles – plays a crucial role in a battery electrode’s performance. Just like the pieces of a puzzle, the way that a battery’s particles fit together affects its overall efficiency and effectiveness. And yet, when analyzing our battery materials, particle morphology can often be an unsung hero, with more focus given to particle size or chemical composition.
But why exactly is particle shape so important – and so difficult to analyze?
Particle shape significantly impacts several factors that are critical for battery performance. Whether a particle is rough, smooth, regular, or elongated can affect slurry rheology, packing density, porosity, and uniformity. And all these properties influence the electrode’s overall efficiency and longevity.
All this means makes analyzing and optimizing particle shape an essential part of the quality control process in battery manufacturing. But this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Battery electrode particles come in a huge range of often very complex shapes – and traditional analysis methods can’t always capture these intricate details and variations.
Enter automated optical imaging
That’s where automated optical imaging comes in. This technology combines the power of optical microscopy with sophisticated software algorithms to analyze and quantify particle shape (or size).
Unlike traditional microscopy, which requires manual operation and analysis, automated optical imaging can capture the shape, size, texture, and distribution of thousands of particles at once. In other words, it’s a comprehensive, fast, and accurate technology, with the potential to revolutionize particle morphology analysis.
One step further with Morphologi 4
And with the Morphologi 4’s fully automated image analysis capabilities, you can measure…
- Circularity
- Elongation/aspect ratio
- Circular Equivalent (CE) diameter
- Transparency
… for particles as small as 0.5 μm, and sample sizes from 10,000 to 500,000 particles.
Better yet, with the Morphologi 4-ID, these automated static imaging capabilities can be combined with Raman spectroscopy. This allows you to simultaneously measure particle size, shape, and chemical identity on one platform – so you don’t just get the full picture of your particles, but also truly understand their behavior.
With demand for batteries increasing rapidly, more and more manufacturers will be needing automated optical imaging in their quality-control toolbox. Instruments like the Morphologi 4 can help solve this often-overlooked piece of the battery-manufacturing puzzle.
Ready to revolutionize your quality control with more effective particle shape analysis? Learn more about the Morphologi 4 – and our other battery research and quality control solutions – in our brochure!
Or if you’d prefer some more personalized advice, reach out to our team of experts!
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