While much of the focus has been on improving electrode materials, the electrolyte has often been seen as a secondary component. This oversight has created a significant opportunity. A well-designed electrolyte can help enhance battery performance by stabilizing the SEI and CEI, reducing side reactions and mitigating corrosion.
Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative The electrolyte is an indispensable component in any electrochemical device. In Li-ion batteries, the electrolyte development experienced a tortuous pathway closely associated with the evolution of electrode chemistries.
The right electrolyte could help unlock the full potential of next-generation batteries, paving the way for higher energy densities, faster charging, longer cycle life, enhanced safety and lower cost. To understand the role electrolytes can play, it’s essential to first review the latest developments in anode and cathode materials.
While much of the focus for next-generation batteries has been on improving electrode materials, the electrolyte has often been seen as a secondary component.
• Broad Applicability: Sulfonyl-based electrolytes have shown promising results across a wide range of lithium-ion and sodium-ion materials (including silicon, LCO, LMFP, NMC and NiFeMn), suggesting that they could be broadly applicable as a solution for next-generation batteries.
The development of Li-ion battery (LIB) electrolytes was constrained by the cathode chemistry in the early days. When the first Li intercalation cathode (titanium disulfide, TiS 2) was invented by Whittingham in 1972 1, ether-based electrolytes were used.