Electrolytes with Solvating Inner Sheath Engineering for Practical Na-S Batteries

Sodium-sulfur (Na-S) batteries with durable Na-metal stability, shuttle-free cyclability, and long lifespan are promising to large-scale energy storages. However, meeting these stringent requirements poses huge challenges with the existing electrolytes. Herein, a localized saturated electrolyte (LSE) is proposed with 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (MeTHF) as an inner sheath solvent, which represents a new category of electrolyte for Na-S system. Unlike the traditional high concentration electrolytes, the LSE is realized with a low salt-to-solvent ratio and low diluent-to-solvent ratio, which pushes the limit of localized high concentration electrolyte (LHCE). The appropriate molecular structure and solvation ability of MeTHF regulate a saturated inner sheath, which features a reinforced coordination of Na⁺ to anions, enlarged Na⁺ -solvent distance, and weakened anion-diluent interaction. Such electrolyte configuration is found to be the key to build a sustainable interphase and a quasi-solid-solid sulfur redox process, making a dendrite-inhibited and shuttle-free Na-S battery possible. With this electrolyte, pouch cells with decent cycling performance under rather demanding conditions are demonstrated.

A Zinc-Bromine Battery with Deep Eutectic Electrolytes

A deep eutectic solvent (DES) is an ionic liquid-analog electrolyte, newly emerging due to its low cost, easy preparation, and tunable properties. Herein, a zinc-bromine battery (ZBB) with a Zn-halide-based DES electrolyte prepared by mixing ZnBr2 , ZnCl2 , and a bromine-capturing agent is reported. The water-free DES electrolyte allows a closed-cell configuration for the ZBB owing to the prevention of Br2 evaporation and H2 evolution. It is found that the Cl- anion changes the structure of the zinc-halide complex anions and demonstrated that it improves the ion mobility and electrode reaction kinetics. The DES electrolyte with the optimized ZnCl2 composition shows much higher rate capability and a cycle life 90 times longer than that of a ZnCl2 -free DES electrolyte. A pouch-type flexible ZBB battery based on the DES electrolyte exhibits swelling-free operation for more than 120 cycles and stable operation under a folding test, suggesting its potential in consumer applications such as wearable electronics.

Li-N Interaction Induced Deep Eutectic Gel Polymer Electrolyte for High Performance Lithium-Metal Batteries

As emerging eutectic mixtures, deep eutectic electrolytes (DEEs) show unique properties for Li-metal batteries (LMBs). However, the limited choice and inferior electrode compatibility hinder their further development in LMBs. Herein, we report a new 1,2-dimethylimidazole (DMIm)-based deep eutectic gel polymer electrolyte induced by Li-N interaction. We demonstrate that incorporating electron-withdrawing polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) polymer into the DMIm-based DEE changes the coordination environment of Li⁺ ions, leading to a high transference number of Li⁺ ions (0.65) and superior interface stability between the electrolyte and Li anode. The deep eutectic gel polymer electrolyte exhibits excellent non-flammability, high ionic conductivity (1.67 mS cm^-1 at 30 °C), and high oxidation voltage (up to 4.35 V vs. Li/Li⁺ ). The Li||LFP cell based on the newly developed deep eutectic gel polymer electrolyte can achieve superior long-term cycling stability at a wide range of rates.

Fluorinated Poly-oxalate Electrolytes Stabilizing both Anode and Cathode Interfaces for All-Solid-State Li/NMC811 Batteries

The relatively narrow electrochemical steady window and low ionic conductivity are two critical challenges for Li⁺ -conducting solid polymer electrolytes (SPE). Here, a family of poly-oxalate(POE) structures were prepared as SPE; among them, POEs composed from diols with an odd number of carbons show higher ionic conductivity than those composed from diols with an even number of carbons, and the POE composed from propanediol (C5-POE) has the highest Li⁺ conductivity. The HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) electrons of POE were found located on the terminal units. When using trifluoroacetate as the terminating unit (POE-F), not only does the HOMO become more negative, but also the HOMO electrons shift to the middle oxalate units, improving the antioxidative capability. Furthermore, the interfacial compatibility across the Li-metal/POE-F is also improved by the generation of a LiF-based solid-electrolyte-interlayer(SEI). With the trifluoroacetate-terminated C5-POE (C5-POE-F) as the electrolyte and Li⁺ -conducting binder in the cathode, the all-solid-state Li/LiNi_0.8 Mn_0.1 Co_0.1 O₂ (NMC811) cells showed significantly improved stability than the counterpart with poly-ether, providing a promising candidate for the forthcoming all-solid-state high-voltage Li-metal batteries.