AI Creates a Sodium Map of a Particle express
Inside each tiny particle that makes up the cathode of a sodium-ion battery, sodium is unevenly distributed — like sugar clumping in tea. This reduces the battery's capacity and lifespan. To see this hidden landscape, scientists used X-ray microscopy and trained artificial intelligence to interpret the data. Like a cartographer, the AI mapped every area of increased inhomogeneity — sort of 'mountains' and 'valleys' of sodium concentration.
The resulting color map showed for the first time what happens at the boundaries of these zones. This approach will enable designing batteries from readily available table salt — without expensive lithium.
Sodium is found in ordinary table salt and is available in virtually unlimited quantities — unlike scarce lithium.