Ionic conduction and self-diffusion near infinitesimal concentration in lithium salt-organic solvent electrolytes

Unveiling the Structural and Dynamic Characteristics of Concentrated LiNO3 Aqueous Solutions through Ultrafast Infrared Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Highly concentrated aqueous electrolytes have attracted a significant amount of attention for their potential applications in lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, a comprehensive understanding of the Li+ solvation structure and its migration within electrolyte solutions remains elusive. This study employs linear vibrational spectroscopy, ultrafast infrared spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to elucidate the structural dynamics in LiNO3 solutions by using intrinsic and extrinsic vibrational probes. The N-O stretching vibrations of NO3- exhibit a distinct spectral splitting, attributed to its asymmetric interaction with the surrounding solvation structure. Analysis of the vibrational relaxation dynamics of intrinsic and extrinsic probes, in combination with MD simulations, reveals cage-like networks formed through electrostatic interactions between Li+ and NO3-. This microscopic heterogeneity is reflected in the intertwined arrangement of ions and water molecules. Furthermore, both vehicular transport and structural diffusion assisted by solvent rearrangement for Li+ were analyzed, which are closely linked with the bulk concentration.

Ligand-channel-enabled ultrafast Li-ion conduction

Li-ion batteries (LIBs) for electric vehicles and aviation demand high energy density, fast charging and a wide operating temperature range, which are virtually impossible because they require electrolytes to simultaneously have high ionic conductivity, low solvation energy and low melting point and form an anion-derived inorganic interphase1-5. Here we report guidelines for designing such electrolytes by using small-sized solvents with low solvation energy. The tiny solvent in the secondary solvation sheath pulls out the Li+ in the primary solvation sheath to form a fast ion-conduction ligand channel to enhance Li+ transport, while the small-sized solvent with low solvation energy also allows the anion to enter the first Li+ solvation shell to form an inorganic-rich interphase. The electrolyte-design concept is demonstrated by using fluoroacetonitrile (FAN) solvent. The electrolyte of 1.3 M lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) in FAN exhibits ultrahigh ionic conductivity of 40.3 mS cm-1 at 25 °C and 11.9 mS cm-1 even at -70 °C, thus enabling 4.5-V graphite||LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 pouch cells (1.2 Ah, 2.85 mAh cm-2) to achieve high reversibility (0.62 Ah) when the cells are charged and discharged even at -65 °C. The electrolyte with small-sized solvents enables LIBs to simultaneously achieve high energy density, fast charging and a wide operating temperature range, which is unattainable for the current electrolyte design but is highly desired for extreme LIBs. This mechanism is generalizable and can be expanded to other metal-ion battery electrolytes.

Uncorrelated Lithium-Ion Hopping in a Dynamic Solvent-Anion Network

Lithium batteries rely crucially on fast charge and mass transport of Li⁺ in the electrolyte. For liquid and polymer electrolytes with added lithium salts, Li⁺ couples to the counter-anion to form ionic clusters that produce inefficient Li⁺ transport and lead to Li dendrite formation. Quantification of Li⁺ transport in glycerol-salt electrolytes via NMR experiments and MD simulations reveals a surprising Li⁺-hopping mechanism. The Li⁺ transference number, measured by ion-specific electrophoretic NMR, can reach 0.7, and Li⁺ diffusion does not correlate with nearby ion motions, even at high salt concentration. Glycerol's high density of hydroxyl groups increases ion dissociation and slows anion diffusion, while the close proximity of hydroxyls and anions lowers local energy barriers, facilitating Li⁺ hopping. This system represents a bridge between liquid and inorganic solid electrolytes, thus motivating new molecular designs for liquid and polymer electrolytes to enable the uncorrelated Li⁺-hopping transport needed for fast-charging and all-solid-state batteries.

Influence of Water on Gel Electrolytes for Zinc-Ion Batteries

Gel electrolytes are being intensively explored for aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries, especially towards high performance and multi-functionalities. Water plays a central role on the fundamental properties, interface reaction/interaction, and performance of the gel-type zinc electrolyte. In this review, the influence of water on the physiochemical properties of gel electrolytes is focused on. The correlation between water activity and the fundamental properties of zinc electrolytes is presented. Current approaches and challenges in manipulating water activity and the consequent influence on the electrochemical stability, transport, and interface kinetics of gel electrolytes are summarized. An outlook on approaches to tuning and investigating water activity is provided to shed light on the design of advanced gel electrolytes.

Mechanical behaviour of inorganic solid-state batteries: can we model the ionic mobility in the electrolyte with Nernst-Einstein's relation?

Inorganic solid-state lithium-metal batteries could be the next-generation batteries owing to their non-flammability and higher specific energy density. Many research efforts have been devoted to improving the ionic conductivity of inorganic solid electrolytes. For a wide range of electrolytes including liquid and solid polymer electrolytes, an independent measurement or calculation of both electrolyte conductivity and diffusion coefficient is often time-consuming and challenging. As a result, Nernst-Einstein's relation has been used to relate the ionic conductivity to ionic diffusivity after the determination of either parameter. Although Nernst-Einstein's relation has been used for different electrolytes, we demonstrate in this perspective that this relation is not directly transferable to describe the ionic mobility for many inorganic solid electrolytes. The fundamental physics of Nernst-Einstein's relation shows that the relationship between the diffusion coefficient and electrolyte conductivity is derived for ionic mobility in a viscous or a gaseous medium. This postulation contradicts state-of-the-art experimental studies measuring the mechanical behaviour of inorganic solid electrolytes, which show that inorganic solid electrolytes are usually brittle rather than viscoelastic at ambient room temperature. The measurement of loss tangent is required to justify the use of Nernst-Einstein's relation. The outcome of such measurement has two implications. First, if the loss tangent of inorganic solid electrolytes is less than unity in the range of batteries operating temperatures, the impacts of using Nernst-Einstein's relation in modelling the ionic mobility should be quantified. Secondly, if the measured loss tangent is comparable to that of solid polymers and lithium metal, inorganic solid electrolytes may behave in a viscoelastic manner as opposed to the brittle behaviour usually suggested.

Structure and dynamics of highly concentrated LiTFSI/acetonitrile electrolytes

High salt concentration has been shown to induce increased electrochemical stability in organic solvent-based electrolytes. Accompanying the change in bulk properties is a structural ordering on mesoscopic length scales and changes in the ion transport mechanism have also been suggested. Here we investigate the local structure and dynamics in highly concentrated acetonitrile electrolytes as a function of salt concentration. Already at low concentrations ordering on microscopic length scales in the electrolytes is revealed by small angle X-ray scattering, as a result of correlations of Li+ coordinating clusters. For higher salt concentrations a charge alternation-like ordering is found as anions start to take part in the solvation. Results from quasi-elastic neutron spectroscopy reveal a jump diffusion dynamical process with jump lengths virtually independent of both temperature and Li-salt concentration. The jump can be envisaged as dissociation of a solvent molecule or anion from a particular Li+ solvation structure. The residence time, 50-800 ps, between the jumps is found to be highly temperature and Li-salt concentration dependent, with shorter residence times for higher temperature and lower concentrations. The increased residence time at high Li-salt concentration can be attributed to changes in the interaction of the solvation shell as a larger fraction of TFSI anions take part in the solvation, forming more stable solvation shells.

Dynamic ionic radius of alkali metal ions in aqueous solution: a pulsed-field gradient NMR study

The dynamic behavior of alkali metal ions, Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺ and Cs⁺ in aqueous solutions is one of the most important topics in solution chemistry. Since these alkali metals contain nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) active nuclei, it is possible to directly measure the diffusion constants of the alkali metal ions using the pulsed field gradient (PFG) NMR method. In this paper, the ⁷Li, ²³Na, ⁸⁷Rb, ¹³³Cs and ¹H resonances are observed for diffusion constants in aqueous solution and the solvent H₂O. Until now, the values of the diffusion constant have been lacking when discussing hydration effects around alkali metal ions. It is known that the static ionic radius (R_ion) increases with increasing the atomic number, and the experimental diffusion constants also increase with increasing the atomic number, which is opposite to the Stokes–Einstein (SE) relation. It suggests that alkali metal ions diffuse through a space of 10⁻⁶ m accompanying the hydrated spheres with a time interval of 10⁻³ s. For each alkali metal ion, the dynamic ionic radius is evaluated.

Stokes radius (dynamic ionic radius) of the alkali metal ions versus the ionic radius (R_ion) at 303 K. The dotted line is a guide for the 1 : 1 relation.

Structural and Ion Dynamics in Fluorine-Free Oligoether Carboxylate Ionic Liquid-Based Electrolytes

Here, we investigate the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of fluorine-free ionic liquid (IL)-based electrolytes with two different cations, tetrabutylphosphonium, (P_4,4,4,4)⁺, and tetrabutylammonium, (N_4,4,4,4)⁺, coupled to a new anion, 2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]acetate anion (MEEA)⁻, for both neat and (P_4,4,4,4)(MEEA) also doped with 10–40 mol % of Li(MEEA). We find relatively weaker cation–anion interactions in (P_4,4,4,4)(MEEA) than in (N_4,4,4,4)(MEEA), and for both ILs, the structural flexibility of the oligoether functionality in the anion results in low glass transition temperatures, also for the electrolytes made. The pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG NMR) data suggest faster diffusion of the (MEEA)⁻ anion than (P_4,4,4,4)⁺ cation in the neat IL, but the addition of a Li salt results in slightly lower mobility of the former than the latter and lower ionic conductivity. This agrees with the combined ⁷Li NMR and attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared (ATR–FTIR) spectroscopy data, which unambiguously reveal preferential interactions between the lithium cations and the carboxylate groups of the IL anions, which also increased as a function of the lithium salt concentration. In total, these systems provide a stepping stone for further design of fluorine-free and low glass transition temperature IL-based electrolytes and also stress how crucial it is to control the strength of ion–ion interactions.

Ionic association analysis of LiTDI, LiFSI and LiPF6 in EC/DMC for better Li-ion battery performances

Insight is given on the type of ion-pairs that could be formed in EC/DMC by Li-salts LiTDI, LiFSI and LiPF₆.

In situ analytical techniques for battery interface analysis

Interface is a key to high performance and safe lithium-ion batteries or lithium batteries.

Decoupling between the Temperature-Dependent Structural Relaxation and Shear Viscosity of Concentrated Lithium Electrolyte

The intermediate scattering functions of concentrated solutions of LiPF₆ in propylene carbonate (PC) were measured at various temperatures, two different wavenumbers, and three different concentrations using neutron spin echo (NSE) spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of the relaxation time was larger than that of the steady-state shear viscosity in all cases. The shear relaxation spectra were also determined at different temperatures. The normalized spectra reduced to a master curve when the frequency was multiplied by the steady-state shear viscosity, indicating that the temperature dependence of the steady-state shear viscosity can be explained by that of the relaxation time of the shear stress. It is thus suggested that the dynamics of the shear stress is decoupled from the structural dynamics on the molecular scale.

Mechanism of ion transport in perfluoropolyether electrolytes with a lithium salt

Perfluoropolyethers (PFPEs) are polymer electrolytes with fluorinated carbon backbones that have high flash points and have been shown to exhibit moderate conductivities and high cation transference numbers when mixed with lithium salts. Ion transport in four PFPE electrolytes with different endgroups was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), ac impedance, and pulsed-field gradient NMR (PFG-NMR) as a function of salt concentration and temperature. In spite of the chemical similarity of the electrolytes, salt diffusion coefficients measured by PFG-NMR and the glass transition temperature measured by DSC appear to be uncorrelated to ionic conductivity measured by ac impedance. We calculate a non-dimensional parameter, β, that depends on the salt diffusion coefficients and ionic conductivity. We also use the Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher relationship to fit the temperature dependence of conductivity. We present a linear relationship between the prefactor in the VTF fit and β; both parameters vary by four orders of magnitude in our experimental window. Our analysis suggests that transport in electrolytes with low dielectric constants (low β) is dictated by ion hopping between clusters.

Strategies for fast ion transport in electrochemical capacitor electrolytes from diffusion coefficients, ionic conductivity, viscosity, density and interaction energies based on HSAB theory

To elucidate factors affecting ion transport in capacitor electrolytes, five propylene carbonate (PC) electrolytes were prepared, each of which includes a salt ((C₂H₅)₄NBF₄, (C₂H₅)₄NPF₆, (C₂H₅)₄NSO₃CF₃, (C₂H₅)₃CH₃NBF₄ and LiBF₄).

Factors influencing fast ion transport in glyme-based electrolytes for rechargeable lithium–air batteries

To elucidate the factors affecting Li-ion transport in glyme-based electrolytes, six kinds of 1.0 M tetraglyme (G4) electrolytes were prepared containing a Li salt (LiSO₃CF₃, LiN(SO₂CF₃)₂, or LiN(SO₂F)₂) or different concentrations (0.5, 2.0, or 2.7 M) of LiN(SO₂CF₃)₂.

Unusual Li-Ion Transfer Mechanism in Liquid Electrolytes: A First-Principles Study

Liquid electrolytes play an important role in commercial lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries as a conduit for Li-ion transfer between anodes and cathodes. It is generally believed that the Li-ions move along with the salt ions; thus, Li-ion diffusion is only affected by the viscosity and salt concentration in the liquid electrolytes based on the Stokes-Einstein equation. In this study, a novel and faster Li-ion diffusion mechanism in electrolytes containing a cyanogen group is identified from first-principles molecular dynamics (FPMD) simulations. In this mechanism, the Li-ions are first detached from the Li-salt and then diffuse along with the solvent molecules, and the Li-ion diffusion does not obey the traditional Stokes-Einstein equation. The ionic conductivity of the electrolyte systems with this "solvent-assisted Li-ion diffusion" mechanism is further enhanced through Li-ion hopping. This novel Li-ion diffusion process explains recent findings of high Li-ion conductivity in electrolytes with cyanogen groups and furnishes a new paradigm for the design of fast-charging liquid electrolyte for Li-ion batteries.

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies on the rotational and translational motions of ionic liquids composed of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium cation and bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide and bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide anions and their binary systems including lithium salts

Room temperature ionic liquids (ILs) are stable liquids composed of anions and cations. 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium (EMIm, EMI) is a popular and important cation that produces thermally stable ILs with various anions. In this study two amide-type anions, bis(trifluoro-methanesulfonyl)amide [N(SO(2)CF(3))(2), TFSA, TFSI, NTf(2), or Tf(2)N] and bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide [(N(SO(2)F)(2), FSA, or FSI] were investigated by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. In addition to EMIm-TFSA and EMIm-FSA, lithium-salt-doped binary systems were prepared (EMIm-TFSA-Li and EMIm-FSA-Li). The spin-lattice relaxation times (T(1)) were measured by (1)H, (19)F, and (7)Li NMR spectroscopy and the correlation times of (1)H NMR, τ(c)(EMIm) (8 × 10(-10) to 3 × 10(-11) s) for the librational molecular motion of EMIm and those of (7)Li NMR, τ(c)(Li) (5 × 10(-9) to 2 × 10(-10) s) for a lithium jump were evaluated in the temperature range between 253 and 353 K. We found that the bulk viscosity (η) versus τ(c)(EMIm) and cation diffusion coefficient D(EMIm) versus the rate 1/τ(c)(EMIm) have good relationships. Similarly, linear relations were obtained for the η versus τ(c)(Li) and the lithium diffusion coefficient D(Li) versus the rate 1∕τ(c)(Li). The mean one-jump distances of Li were calculated from τ(c)(Li) and D(Li). The experimental values for the diffusion coefficients, ionic conductivity, viscosity, and density in our previous paper were analyzed by the Stokes-Einstein, Nernst-Einstein, and Stokes-Einstein-Debye equations for the neat and binary ILs to clarify the physicochemical properties and mobility of individual ions. The deviations from the classical equations are discussed.

How ionic are room-temperature ionic liquids? An indicator of the physicochemical properties

Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are liquids consisting entirely of ions, and their important properties, e.g., negligible vapor pressure, are considered to result from the ionic nature. However, we do not know how ionic the RTILs are. The ionic nature of the RTILs is defined in this study as the molar conductivity ratio (Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR)), calculated from the molar conductivity measured by the electrochemical impedance method (Lambda(imp)) and that estimated by use of pulse-field-gradient spin-echo NMR ionic self-diffusion coefficients and the Nernst-Einstein relation (Lambda(NMR)). This ratio is compared with solvatochromic polarity scales: anionic donor ability (Lewis basicity), E(T)(30), hydrogen bond donor acidity (alpha), and dipolarity/polarizability (pi), as well as NMR chemical shifts. The Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR) well illustrates the degree of cation-anion aggregation in the RTILs at equilibrium, which can be explained by the effects of anionic donor and cationic acceptor abilities for the RTILs having different anionic and cationic backbone structures with fixed counterparts, and by the inductive and dispersive forces for the various alkyl chain lengths in the cations. As a measure of the electrostatic interaction of the RTILs, the effective ionic concentration (C(eff)), which is a dominant parameter for the electrostatic forces of the RTILs, was introduced as the product of Lambda(imp)/Lambda(NMR) and the molar concentration and was compared with some physical properties, such as reported normal boiling points and distillation rates, glass transition temperature, and viscosity. A decrease in C(eff) of the RTILs is well correlated with the normal boiling point and distillation rate, whereas the liquid-state dynamics is controlled by a subtle balance between the electrostatic and other intermolecular forces.

Solvation Structure of Li+ in Concentrated LiPF6−Propylene Carbonate Solutions

Time-of-flight neutron diffraction measurements were carried out for 6Li/7Li isotopically substituted 10 mol % LiPF6-propylene carbonate-d6 (PC-d6) solutions, in order to obtain structural information on the first solvation shell of Li+. Structural parameters concerning the nearest neighbor Li+...PC and Li+...PF6- interactions were determined through least-squares fitting analysis of the observed difference function, DeltaLi(Q). It has been revealed that the first solvation shell of Li+ consists in average of 4.5(1) PC molecules with an intermolecular Li+...O(PC) distance of 2.04(1) A. The angle Li+...O=C bond angle has been determined to be 138(2) degrees.

Ion Conduction Mechanisms and Thermal Properties of Hydrated and Anhydrous Phosphoric Acids Studied with 1H, 2H, and 31P NMR

To understand the behaviors of phosphoric acids in fuel cells, the ion conduction mechanisms of phosphoric acids in condensed states without free water and in a monomer state with water were studied by measuring the ionic conductivity (sigma) using AC impedance, thermal properties, and self-diffusion coefficients (D) and spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) with multinuclear NMR. The self-diffusion coefficient of the protons (H+ or H3O+), H2O, and H located around the phosphate were always larger than the diffusion coefficients of the phosphates and the disparity increased with increasing phosphate concentration. The diffusion coefficients of the samples containing D2O paralleled those in the protonated samples. Since the 1H NMR T1 values exhibited a minimum with temperature, it was possible to determine the correlation times and they were found to be of nanosecond order for a distance of nanometer order for a flip. The agreement of the ionic conductivities measured directly and those calculated from the diffusion coefficients indicates that the ion conduction obeys the Nernst-Einstein equation in the condensed phosphoric acids. The proton diffusion plays a dominant role in the ion conduction, especially in the condensed phosphoric acids.

Direct in Situ Observation of Dynamic Transport for Electrolyte Components by NMR Combined with Electrochemical Measurements

Electrochemical studies provide broad, but not cation- or anion-specific information on the migration of charged ions. However, individual ion diffusion (as a weighted average of charged and neutral ions) can be measured using pulsed-gradient spin-echo (PGSE) NMR. In this paper, the lithium transport in an electrolyte including a lithium salt was measured using electrophoretic NMR (ENMR) with non-blocking electrodes. A propylene carbonate (PC) solution doped with LiN(SO(2)CF(3))(2) (LiTFSI) was inserted in a homemade NMR cell equipped with Li/Li electrodes. The drift migrations of lithium cation ((7)Li), anion ((19)F), and solvent ((1)H) were measured independently under potentials of up to 3.0 V. Greatly enhanced dynamic lithium transport was observed for the first time in the bulk electrolyte under an electric field closely related to real conditions in a rechargeable lithium battery.