The present invention provides systems and methods for accurately
characterizing thermodynamic and materials properties of electrodes and
electrochemical energy storage and conversion systems. Systems and
methods of the present invention are configured for simultaneously
collecting a suite of measurements characterizing a plurality of
interconnected electrochemical and thermodynamic parameters relating to
the electrode reaction state of advancement, voltage and temperature.
Enhanced sensitivity provided by the present methods and systems combined
with measurement conditions that reflect thermodynamically stabilized
electrode conditions allow very accurate measurement of thermodynamic
parameters, including state functions such as the Gibbs free energy,
enthalpy and entropy of electrode/electrochemical cell reactions, that
enable prediction of important performance attributes of electrode
materials and electrochemical systems, such as the energy, power density,
current rate and the cycle life of an electrochemical cell.