Ivana Pivarníková awarded the 2024 Edward Steers Memorial Award for Best Glow Discharge Paper

The findings help researchers better understand how lithium moves and accumulates inside battery electrodes—insights that are essential for improving the safety, lifespan, and efficiency of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. Ivana Pivarníková shares the award with her co-author Marius Flügel (ZSW Ulm).

Advancing battery research through precise lithium analysis

Their study addresses a central analytical challenge in examining used lithium-ion batteries: determining the depth distribution of lithium below the surface of silicon/graphite anodes with precision. The authors compare two complementary measurement techniques and explain why they can give different answers.

In glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES), thin surface layers are removed using an argon plasma, and the emitted light reveals the presence of elements at different depths. However, the process can distort results because some elements, such as lithium, are removed faster than others — also known as preferential sputtering. Ivana Pivarníková and her research team found that this effect is especially strong in aged battery anodes, where lithium can be trapped or plated on the surface, resulting in misleading depth profiles. By being the first to compare GD-OES with neutron depth profiling (NDP), a method that measures lithium distribution without removing material, the researchers were able to develop a correction method for GD-OES data analysis based on the stable argon signal. This adjustment significantly enhances the accuracy of lithium depth measurements using GD-OES.

The Edward Steers Memorial Award is presented annually by the European Working Group for Glow Discharge Spectroscopy (EW-GDS) in memory of Professor Edward Steers, whose research significantly contributed to the development of analytical glow discharge methods and fostered international collaboration in the field. The award honours his legacy by recognising outstanding contributions to analytical glow discharge each year. The submissions are judged on scientific quality, novelty, and clarity, and winners share a financial prize of €1,000 and receive a certificate of recognition.