The performance and degradation of layered cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries depend on their morphological, surface, and crystallographic properties. A comprehensive tool to spatially characterize grain geometry and orientation in electrode particles is needed in order to understand solid-state lithium transport and the efficacy of particles to avoid lithiation heterogeneities and strain-induced degradation. Here we apply electron backscatter diffraction on LiNi_0.5Mn_0.3Co_0.2O₂ particle cross-sections to spatially describe intra-particle grain architectures. A method for segmenting, labeling, and quantifying morphological properties of distinct grains is developed and applied. Crystallographic orientations are measured for each grain, and the spatial distribution of grain orientations is quantified with a specific focus on describing lithium transport and accounting for inter-grain lithiation barriers. The necessary extension from two-dimensional to three-dimensional descriptions of grain morphologies and orientations to predict lithiation inefficiencies is discussed, as well as a method to quantify the ideality of grain architectures for high-rate and efficient operation.

锂离子电池分层正极材料的性能和降解取决于其形态，表面和晶体学性质。为了了解固态锂的运输以及避免锂化异质性和应变引起的降解的颗粒功效，需要一种用于空间表征电极颗粒中晶粒几何形状和取向的综合工具。在这里，我们对LiNi _0.5 Mn _0.3 Co _0.2 O _2进行电子背散射衍射粒子横截面以在空间上描述粒子内的晶粒结构。开发并应用了一种对不同晶粒的形态特征进行分割，标记和量化的方法。测量每个晶粒的晶体取向，并量化晶粒取向的空间分布，重点是描述锂的运输和考虑晶间锂化障碍。讨论了将晶粒形态和取向的二维描述扩展到三维描述以预测锂化效率低下的必要方法，以及量化晶粒结构理想化以实现高效率和高效率操作的方法。