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Breaking solvation dominance of ethylene carbonate via molecular charge engineering enables lower temperature battery

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Listed:
  • Yuqing Chen

    (Hunan University)

  • Qiu He

    (Sichuan University)

  • Yun Zhao

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Wang Zhou

    (Hunan University)

  • Peitao Xiao

    (National University of Defense Technology)

  • Peng Gao

    (Hunan University)

  • Naser Tavajohi

    (Umeå University)

  • Jian Tu

    (LI-FUN Technology Corporation Limited)

  • Baohua Li

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Xiangming He

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Lidan Xing

    (South China Normal University)

  • Xiulin Fan

    (Zhejiang University)

  • Jilei Liu

    (Hunan University)

Abstract

Low temperatures severely impair the performance of lithium-ion batteries, which demand powerful electrolytes with wide liquidity ranges, facilitated ion diffusion, and lower desolvation energy. The keys lie in establishing mild interactions between Li+ and solvent molecules internally, which are hard to achieve in commercial ethylene-carbonate based electrolytes. Herein, we tailor the solvation structure with low-ε solvent-dominated coordination, and unlock ethylene-carbonate via electronegativity regulation of carbonyl oxygen. The modified electrolyte exhibits high ion conductivity (1.46 mS·cm−1) at −90 °C, and remains liquid at −110 °C. Consequently, 4.5 V graphite-based pouch cells achieve ~98% capacity over 200 cycles at −10 °C without lithium dendrite. These cells also retain ~60% of their room-temperature discharge capacity at −70 °C, and miraculously retain discharge functionality even at ~−100 °C after being fully charged at 25 °C. This strategy of disrupting solvation dominance of ethylene-carbonate through molecular charge engineering, opens new avenues for advanced electrolyte design.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuqing Chen & Qiu He & Yun Zhao & Wang Zhou & Peitao Xiao & Peng Gao & Naser Tavajohi & Jian Tu & Baohua Li & Xiangming He & Lidan Xing & Xiulin Fan & Jilei Liu, 2023. "Breaking solvation dominance of ethylene carbonate via molecular charge engineering enables lower temperature battery," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-43163-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43163-9
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