We report on in situ and ex situ concentration measurements in lithium/poly
mer-electrolyte/lithium cells during cycling. We have used three different
methods which give complementary results, in good agreement with theoretica
l predictions and previous concentration measurements by Raman confocal mic
rospectroscopy. Our methods allow to obtain concentration maps in the elect
rolyte, in particular, when dendrites are observed: from these measurements
, we can correlate the onset of dendritic growth with local concentration g
radients. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.