Local detection of activation energy for ionic transport in lithium cobalt oxide.

Local activation energy for ionic diffusion is probed on the nanometer level in LiCoO(2) thin films using variable temperature electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM). The high spatial resolution of ESM allows one to extract information about ionic activation energies on the level of individual grains and grain facets, thus bridging the lengths scales of atomistic calculations and traditional macroscopic experiments. A series of control experiments have been performed and possible signal generating mechanisms are discussed to explain the temperature-dependent ESM measurements.