Battery electrode materials such as LixMn2O4 and gamma-MnO2 are characterized in the solid state by cyclic voltammetry when mechanically attached to an electrode surface. At voltammetric scan rates in the mV/s range, identical peak potentials and essentially the same peak shapes are observed when compared with voltammograms recorded at conventional composite electrodes at scan rates in the mu V/s range. The method provides a convenient tool for the rapid screening of battery electrode materials.