No abstract

A new ether-based electrolyte to match lithium metal electrode is prepared by introducing 1, 4-dioxane as co-solvent into lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide/1,2-dimethoxyethane solution. Under the synergetic effect of solvents and salt, this simple liquid electrolyte presents stable Li cycling with dendrite-free Li deposition even at relatively high current rate, high coulombic efficiency of ca. 98%, and good anodic stability up to ~4.87 V vs Li RE. Its excellent performance will open up a new possibility for high energy-density rechargeable Li metal battery system.

Metallic sodium (Na) is one of the most promising anode candidates for next‐generation secondary batteries. The development of Na metal batteries with a high energy density and low cost is desirable to meet the requirements of both portable and stationary electrical energy storage. Unfortunately, several problems caused by the unstable Na metal anode severely hinder the practical applications of these batteries. Here reported is a facile but effective methodology to form a multistructural interphase layer containing a sodium fluoride‐rich solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and crisscrossed Na3Sb bars on the Na electrode surface. The reinforced Na‐alloy network and chemically/electrochemically complementary SEI formation greatly improve the interphase strength and Na+ conductivity. The well‐protected Na metal electrode in symmetric Na|Na cells is stable and dendrite‐free in the plating and stripping cycling processes with a negligible voltage divergence, even at a large current density of 5 mA cm−2 or with a high deposition capacity of 10 mAh cm−2. Moreover, this anode is especially compatible with different cathodes and demonstrates outstanding cycle performance in the full cells. It is believed that this approach provides a practical solution toward stable Na metal anodes and related battery systems.

The lithium-sulfur battery is regarded as one of the most promising candidates for lithium-metal batteries with high energy density. However, dendrite Li formation and low cycle efficiency of the Li anode as well as unstable sulfur based cathode still hinder its practical application. Herein a novel electrolyte (1 m LiODFB/EC-DMC-FEC) is designed not only to address the above problems of Li anode but also to match sulfur cathode perfectly, leading to extraordinary electrochemical performances. Using this electrolyte, lithium|lithium cells can cycle stably for above 2000 hours and the average Coulumbic efficiency reaches 98.8 %. Moreover, the Li-S battery delivers a reversible capacity of about 1400 mAh g(-1) sulfur with retention of 89 % for 1100 cycles at 1 C, and a capacity above 1100 mAh g(-1) sulfur at 10 C. The more advantages of this cell system are its outstanding cycle stability at 60 °C and no self-discharge phenomena.

Recent progress in electrolytes from the liquid to the solid state for Si-based anodes is comprehensively summarized in this review article.