X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a synchrotron-based, element-specific, short-range structural method largely used in the study of materials, already widely employed for the study of the electrochemical processes in battery systems. The high penetration of the X-rays makes XAS particularly suited for the study of battery materials under operando conditions using specifically developed in situ electrochemical cells. In this paper, the application of XAS to the study of battery materials carried out at Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier (France) will be outlined, illustrating the type of information provided by XAS. The challenging study of the sodiation of Bi_0.50Sb_0.50 followed individually and simultaneously at both metals will be also presented in order to highlight the typical advantages of this technique even when it is pushed at its technical limits.

In this study, we want to highlight the assets and restrictions of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Mössbauer spectroscopy for investigating the mechanism of the electrochemical reaction of antimony electrode materials vs. Na. For this, operando XAS was carried out during the first one and a half cycles, and the whole set of measured data was analysed using a statistical-chemometric approach, while low temperature Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements were carried out ex situ on selected samples stopped at different points of the electrochemical reaction. Complementary ab initio calculations were performed to support the experimental findings. Both techniques show that, upon the first sodiation, most Sb reacts with Na to form disordered Na ₃ Sb. This step is accompanied by the formation of amorphous Sb as an intermediate. Upon inversion of the current Na ₃ Sb is desodiated and an amorphous Sb phase, distinct from the pristine bulk Sb state, is gradually formed. However, both XAS and Mössbauer spectroscopy were unable to spot the formation of intermediate Na _x Sb phases, which were evinced in previous works by operando Pair Distribution Function analyses. The results shown here clearly assign such failure to the intrinsic inability of both techniques to identify these intermediates.

As it has been recently shown in the literature, SnSb exhibits better performance in Na-ion than in Li-ion batteries in spite of its even larger volume expansion. Where is this special behaviour coming from? In this work, the reversible sodiation-desodiation reaction of SnSb was investigated by simultaneous operando Sn and Sb K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy along with operando¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy. Chemometric tools such as principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares were used to analyse the whole data sets to gain information on the nature and sequence of formation of different species during electrochemical cycling vs. Na. The obtained results indicate that the sodiation reaction is a two-step process clearly distinct from the reaction of SnSb vs. Li. Firstly Sb is sodiated to form Na₃Sb and an intermediate phase of nanosized metallic Sn, which we were able to identify as α-Sn, commonly unstable at ambient conditions. During the second step, this tin phase is fully sodiated to form Na₁₅Sn₄, as rarely observed for pure Sn-based electrodes. Finally, EXAFS analysis proves that the amorphous SnSb phase formed after one complete cycle is clearly distinct from the pristine material. These new insights on the mechanism of SnSb vs. Na provide a basis for understanding the exceptional electrochemical performance, which is superior not only to SnSb vs. Li but also to Sn vs. Na. The key to the enhanced cycle life and capacity retention lies in the gradual formation of amorphous, nano-confined intermediate phases and correlated elastic softening of highly sodiated tin and antimony phases which have enhanced ability to absorb and mitigate the strong volume changes occurring upon sodiation and desodiation.