Further enhancement in the energy densities of rechargeable lithium batteries calls for novel cell chemistry with advanced electrode materials that are compatible with suitable electrolytes without compromising the overall performance and safety, especially when considering high‐voltage applications. Significant advancements in cell chemistry based on traditional organic carbonate‐based electrolytes may be successfully achieved by introducing fluorine into the salt, solvent/cosolvent, or functional additive structure. The combination of the benefits from different constituents enables optimization of the electrolyte and battery chemistry toward specific, targeted applications. This Review aims to highlight key research activities and technical developments of fluorine‐based materials for aprotic non‐aqueous solvent‐based electrolytes and their components along with the related ongoing scientific challenges and limitations. Ionic liquid‐based electrolytes containing fluorine will not be considered in this Review.

Application of different electrolyte components as blends in nonaqueous electrolyte formulations represents a viable approach towards improving the overall performance and reliability of a lithium ion battery cell. By combining the advantages of different electrolyte constituents, cell chemistry can be optimized and tailored for a specific purpose. In this paper, the current progress on possibilities, advantages, as well as limitations of blended nonaqueous electrolyte formulations, including solvent, salt and additive blends is reviewed and discussed. Emphasis is set on the physicochemical, electrochemical, and safety aspects. In addition, the aim of this review is to provide perspective and possible strategy for further and future development of blended nonaqueous electrolytes with long life, high energy density, high power, and adequate safety at competitive manufacturing costs. The provided overview and perspective on blended nonaqueous electrolyte formulations should encourage researchers to proceed with further and deeper investigations in this promising field of advanced batteries.

Silicon (Si) has gained huge attention as an anode material for next-generation high-capacity lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, despite its overwhelming beneficial features, its large-scale commercialization is hampered due to unavoidable challenges such as colossal volume change during (de)­alloying, inherent low electronic and ionic conductivities, low Coulombic efficiency, unstable/dynamic solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), electrolyte drying and so forth. Among other strategies, the use of a fraction dose of chemical additives is hailed as the most effective, economic and scalable approach to realize Si-anode-based LIBs. Functional additives can modify the nature and chemical composition of the SEI, which in turn dictates the obtainable capacity, rate capability, Coulombic/energy efficiency, safety, and so forth of the battery system. Thus, we report a systematic and comparative investigation of various electrolyte additives, namely tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), (2-cyanoethyl)­triethoxysilane (TEOSCN), vinylene carbonate (VC), fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), and a blend of TEOSCN, VC, and FEC (i.e., VC/FEC/TEOSCN) using electrochemical analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, density functional theory calculation, and differential scanning calorimetry. The ternary mixture (FEC/VC/TEOSCN) results in a thinner SEI layer consisting of high shear modulus SEI-building species (mainly LiF). It also provides much improved thermal stability amid all tested additives, showing its potentiality to enable high capacity and safer Si-based anode LIBs. Thus, nitrile-functionalized silanes are highly promising electrolyte additives to boost the electrochemical performance and safety-induced risks of Si-based anode LIBs, emanating from the formation of a robust SEI layer.

Three symmetric substances originating from triethyl phosphate were specifically synthesized with varying degree of fluorination at the side chain. Different concentrations of each phosphate were evaluated as co-solvent with regard to their flammability and the electrochemical cycling performance. With higher degree of fluorination and a higher amount of the phosphate in the electrolyte, the self-extinguishing time (SET), a value to determine and compare the flammability of electrolytes, could be significantly lowered to yield a non-flammable electrolyte mixture. A specifically designed SET device is introduced, which offers more accurate results due to lowered standard deviations by minimizing random and systematic errors. As the application of phosphates as co-solvents results in a trade-off in cycling performance, a thorough determination in regard to the ionic conductivity, the anodic oxidation stability and the compatibility with anode and cathode material was carried out in half- and full-cells. The manuscript strives to establish a deeper understanding of the influence that the utilization of phosphates as co-solvents entail with special focus on the fluorination degree. It could be shown that the partially fluorinated phosphate offers the best cycling results and therefore the lowest trade-off in performance, while a severe improvement in SET could be achieved compared to the reference electrolyte.

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Two selected and designed fluorinated cyclic phosphorus­(III)-based compounds, namely 2-(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoro­propoxy)-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane (PFPOEPi) and 2-(2,2,3,3,3-pentafluoro-propoxy)-4-(trifluormethyl)-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane (PFPOEPi-1CF3), were synthesized and comprehensively characterized for high voltage application in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and constant current cycling were conducted, followed by post mortem analysis of the NMC111 electrode surface via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). To support and complement obtained experimental results, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed. Theoretical and experimental findings show that the considered phospholane molecule class enables high voltage LIB application by sacrificial decomposition on the cathode surface and involvement in the formation of a cathode electrode interphase (CEI) via polymerization reaction. In addition, obtained results point out that the introduction of the CF3 group has a significant influence on the formation and dynamics of the CEI as well as on the overall cell performance, as the cell impedance as well as the thickness of the CEI is increased compared to the cells containing PFPOEPi, which results in a decreased cycling performance. This systematic approach allows researchers to understand the structure–reactivity relationship of the newly synthesized compounds and helps to further tailor the vital physicochemical properties of functional electrolyte additives relevant for high voltage LIB application.

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