Weakly Solvating Electrolyte to Enable Lithium- and Manganese-Rich Cathode-Based Li-Ion Batteries
Qijia Zhu, Jiayi Xu, Cong Liu, Wei Jiang, Jingtian Yang, Zhenzhen Yang, Xinqi Chen, Seoung‐Bum Son, Krishna Prasad Koirala, Chongmin Wang, Owen S. Wostoupal, Qian Liu, Tao Xu, Zhengcheng Zhang
Abstract
Traditional ethylene carbonate (EC)-based electrolytes exhibit strong solvation power at the surface of the layered transition metal oxide cathodes, which accelerates transition metal dissolution. The subsequent migration and deposition of dissolved transition metal species on the anode surface lead to significant capacity fading. To overcome this challenge, we report a weakly solvating, all-fluorinated electrolyte designed to mitigate transition metal dissolution. For the first time, the role of electrolyte solvation in suppressing transition metal dissolution is systematically investigated. The tailored electrolyte significantly reduces transition metal dissolution and enhances the electrochemical performance of Li- and Mn-rich (LMR) cathode/graphite cells. This solvation-modulating strategy offers a broadly applicable framework for stabilizing interphases in other earth-abundant cathode chemistries, which similarly demand kinetic protection against interfacial degradation.