Simultaneous operando Nuclear Forward Scattering and transmission X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy measurements were carried out in order to investigate the electrochemical mechanism of NaFeO₂ vs. Na metal using a specifically designed in situ cell. The obtained data were analysed using an alternative and innovative data analysis approach based on chemometric tools such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multivariate Curve Resolution - Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS). This approach, which allows the unbiased extraction of all possible information from the operando data, enabled the stepwise reconstruction of the independent “real” components permitting the description of the desodiation mechanism of NaFeO₂. This wealth of information allows a clear description of the electrochemical reaction at the redox-active iron centres, and thus an improved comprehension of the cycling mechanisms of this material vs. sodium.

In the last decade, a rapidly growing number of operando spectroscopy analyses have helped unravelling the electrochemical mechanism of lithium and post-lithium battery materials. The corresponding experiments usually produce large datasets containing many tens or hundreds of spectra. This considerable amount of data is calling for a suitable strategy for their treatment in a reliable way and within reasonable time frame. To this end, an alternative and innovating approach allowing one to extract all meaningful information from such data is the use of chemometric tools such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and multivariate curve resolution (MCR). PCA is generally used to discover the minimal particular structures in multivariate spectral data sets. In the case of operando spectroscopy data, it can be used to determine the number of independent components contributing to a complete series of collected spectra during electrochemical cycling. The number of principal components determined by PCA can then be used as the basis for MCR analysis, which allows the stepwise reconstruction of the “real” spectral components without needing any pre-existing model or any presumptive information about the system. In this paper, we will show how such approach can be effectively applied to different techniques, such as Mössbauer spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy or transmission soft X-ray microscopy, for the comprehension of the electrochemical mechanisms in battery studies.

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.

The electrochemical cycling mechanism of the ternary intermetallic TiSnSb, a promising conversion-type negative electrode material for lithium batteries, was thoroughly studied by operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at three different absorption edges, i.e., Ti, Sn, and Sb K-edge. Chemometric tools such as principal component analysis and multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares were applied on the extensive data set to extract the maximum contained information in the whole set of operando data. The evolution of the near-edge (XANES) fingerprint and of the extended fine-structure (EXAFS) of the XAS spectra confirms the reversibility of the conversion mechanism, revealing that Ti forms metallic nanoparticles upon lithiation and binds back to both Sn and Sb upon the following delithiation. The formation of both Li₇Sn₂ and Li₃Sb upon lithiation was also clearly confirmed. The application of chemometric tools allowed the identification of a time shift between the reaction processes of Sn and Sb lithiation, indicating that the two metals do not react at the same time, in spite of a certain overlap between their respective reaction. Furthermore, XANES and EXAFS fingerprint show that the Ti-Sn-Sb species formed after one complete lithiation/delithiation cycle is distinct from the starting material TiSnSb.