Advancing Battery Research and
Development with Magnetic Resonance

Developing better batteries requires real chemical insight. Only by understanding their underlying chemical and electrochemical processes can we design systems that charge faster, store more energy, and last longer.

Bruker’s Magnetic Resonance (MR) portfolio, spanning NMR and EPR, provides molecular-level insights into the key mechanisms that drive battery performance and failure: structures, ion dynamics, redox processes, surface reactions, SEI formation, and degradation pathways.

Whether you work on next-generation materials or improving existing systems, Magnetic Resonance reveals information that other techniques cannot. Book a live or remote demo to see how our experts can support your research from sample preparation to data interpretation or contact us to learn more.

How researchers are harnessing the power of magnetic resonance to drive battery innovation

Interviews with leading scientists in energy storage reveal how NMR and EPR have helped them to develop new electrode materials that are more stable, efficient, and durable. As energy storage technologies continue to evolve, magnetic resonance will remain an essential tool in helping researchers to understand the properties of battery materials and develop new, advanced materials for energy storage. Explore some of the most remarkable examples of MR in battery research!

Characterizing electrode materials requires techniques that can resolve structure, defects, and reactivity across both crystalline and disordered phases. While XRD excels at identifying crystalline phases and long-range order, Magnetic Resonance complements it by revealing short-range structural details that remain invisible to diffraction and by providing critical insights in disordered or partially amorphous systems.

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High-Resolution Solid-State NMR for Paramagnetic Materials

Bruker’s Avance Neo-X 200 MHz pNMR system is the ideal solid-state NMR platform for studying paramagnetic materials, offering the optimal balance of resolution and sensitivity. It enables battery researchers across the globe to access detailed structural and dynamic information of electrode materials, including ion coordination, ion mobility, phase evolution during cycling, and the formation of degradation products.

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EPR for Redox and Defect Analysis

EPR further expands this picture by probing unpaired electrons, enabling direct observation of transition-metal redox states, paramagnetic centers, and defect chemistry that NMR or diffraction alone cannot resolve. This can be easily accomplished using the Bruker benchtop Magnettech ESR5000, or with the floor-standing CW-EPR systems if measurements at helium temperatures are required.

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Magnetic resonance approaches have become essential tools to investigate chemical structure, composition, and reactivity of battery electrolytes. These techniques can detect subtle changes associated with degradation, aging, and safety-critical reactions, supporting both academic and industry research across the globe.

High-Resolution Liquid-State NMR of Electrolytes

Liquid-state NMR provides the atomic-level resolution required to accurately characterize electrolyte chemistry. A key advantage of NMR is its ability to selectively study individual nuclei, enabling targeted analysis of specific chemical environments within complex liquid formulations. Benchtop instruments such as the Bruker Fourier 80 are well suited for routine characterization, while higher-field systems (400 MHz and above) offer increased resolution and sensitivity when a more detailed understanding is required. Together, these platforms support the identification and quantification of solvents, additives, impurities, and degradation products, as well as the monitoring of compositional changes in pristine, cycled, or recycled electrolytes.

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Revealing Material Degradation with EPR

In the context of battery electrolytes, Bruker EPR spectrometers enable the detection of radical intermediates and transition-metal ions involved in electrolyte degradation and interfacial reactions. This capability provides direct mechanistic insight into redox processes, electrode and electrolyte stability, and safety-relevant degradation pathways. This can be easily achieved with our compact benchtop system for standard conditions or with the high-performance floor-standing CW-EPR instrument for advanced measurements at low temperatures.

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To optimize the performance of whole battery cells, it is critical to optimize the mobility of the ions in the electrolyte. Multi-nuclear NMR diffusometry is a powerful technique for the study of ion mobility, solvation of the salt dissolved in the electrolyte and chemical structure of the electrolyte. MR diffusometry can be used to characterize the properties of newly developed electrolytes to understand how changes to the electrolyte chemistry effect ion mobility and electrolytes extracted from cycled cells to understand how cycling effects the electrolyte properties.

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Solid-State NMR

Operando and in-situ solid-state NMR are highly useful for the observation of metastable and short-lived phases that arise under working conditions. These techniques also provide detailed monitoring of metallic structures during cycling, offering critical insights into factors that influence battery performance, safety, and longevity. Bruker offers a broad portfolio of operando NMR probes in collaboration with ePROBE, Bruker’s partner for battery analysis technology solutions. These include cylindrical, coin, and pouch cell formats, supporting a wide range of battery chemistries and experimental conditions.

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Microimaging

NMR is a unique technique that offers the ability to monitor not only the chemical changes inside a full battery cell, but also to localize these changes. Specifically, MR microscopy enables a non-invasive 3D visualization and chemical characterization of changes in the battery electrode and the electrolyte in situ. Bruker offers a broad portfolio of MR microscopy hardware to support a wide range of battery sizes and chemistries.

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Benchtop Flow NMR-EPR

Researchers studying redox reactions in the liquid state can benefit from the combination of operando flow NMR and EPR, where the simultaneous acquisition of NMR and EPR data exploits the complementary strengths of these two techniques. This integrated approach is particularly powerful for investigating degradation, ion dynamics, and crossover in redox flow batteries, and it can be extended to other electrochemical reaction mechanisms such as ammonia synthesis, CO₂ reduction, and lignin oxidation.

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NMR and EPR enable the investigation of chemical, structural, and electrochemical changes occurring during battery aging and cycling. These techniques provide direct insights into degradation processes across electrodes and electrolytes under realistic operating conditions.

Key capabilities include the detection and characterization of:

• plating and stripping processes
• dendrite formation and growth
• electrolyte decomposition and interphase evolution
• structural and electronic instabilities in electrode materials

Both in-operando measurements and post-mortem analysis allow the identification of failure pathways and the underlying mechanisms driving performance loss. These insights support a deeper understanding of battery lifetime, safety risks, and material limitations, helping academic researchers and battery manufacturers to improve battery reliability, extend lifetime, and optimize quality control strategies.

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