Probing frozen solid electrolyte interphases
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Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Now, writing in Nature, Yi Cui, Stacey Bent and colleagues report a cryogenic XPS (cryo-XPS) approach that preserves the chemistry of battery interfaces during analysis (Nature 646, 850–855; 2025). In this approach, lithium electrodes are flash-frozen by plunging them into liquid nitrogen, followed by sample transfer and subsequent measurement at −110 °C (pictured). The cryogenic conditions arrest dynamic changes in the SEI and preserve its native form. This enables the systematic assessment of the effects of temperature, UHV, reaction and beam-induced damage by analysing the same electrode region under controlled conditions.The data reveal that the SEI is sensitive to the environment in which it is analysed. Cold samples have a stable spectral signature under UHV, but as the sample is warmed to room temperature, progressive changes are observed in the SEI, which are consistent with the loss and transformation of metastable species. Consequently, the apparent SEI thickness decreases at room temperature, implying that the native interphase is thicker than what conventional measurements suggest. Once warmed, re-cooling the material does not restore the original spectrum, indicating that the temperature-driven changes are irreversible. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access options Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription $32.99 / 30 days cancel any time Learn more Subscribe to this journal Receive 12 print issues and online access $259.00 per year only $21.58 per issue Learn more Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from$1.95 to$39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout Author informationAuthors and AffiliationsNature Materials https://www.nature.com/nmat/Saunak DasAuthorsSaunak DasView author publicationsSearch author on:PubMed Google ScholarCorresponding authorCorrespondence to Saunak Das.Rights and permissionsReprints and permissionsAbout this articleCite this articleDas, S. Probing frozen solid electrolyte interphases. Nat. Mater. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02443-zDownload citationPublished: 17 December 2025Version of record: 17 December 2025DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-025-02443-zShare this articleAnyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:Get shareable linkSorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for battery interfaces Sanzeeda Baig ShuchiGiulio D’AcuntoStacey F.
Bent Nature Article 22 Oct 2025