Abstract Presented (ON-DEMAND ONLY) Low Concentration Sulfolane-based Electrolyte for High Voltage Lithium Metal Batteries

Electrolyte engineering is crucial for the commercialization of lithium metal batteries. Here, lithium metal is stabilized in highly reactive sulfolane-based electrolyte under low concentration (0.25 M) for the first time. Inorganic-polymer hybrid SEI with high ionic conductivity, low bonding with lithium and high flexibility enables dense chunky lithium deposition and high plating/stripping efficiency. LCE also enables excellent cycling stability of NCM523/Li cells at 1 C (90.7% retention after 500 cycles) and 0.3 C (83.3% retention after 1000 cycles). Even with a low N/P ratio (~2), the capacity retention for NCM523/Li cells can achieve 94.3 % after 100 cycles at 0.3 C. The exploring of the LCE is of paramount significance because it provides more possibilities of the lithium salts selection, especially reviving some lithium salts that are excluded before due to their low solubility. More importantly, LCE has the significant advantage of commercialization due to the cost effectiveness.