Cycling a Lithium Metal Anode at 90 °C in a Liquid Electrolyte

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 59; no. 35; pp. 15109 - 15113
• Main Authors: Hou, Li‐Peng, Zhang, Xue‐Qiang, Li, Bo‐Quan, Zhang, Qiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 24.08.2020
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: Anodes; Batteries; Deposition; Electrolytes; elevated temperature; High temperature; Intermediates; Interphase; liquid electrolytes; Lithium; lithium metal anodes; Lithium-ion batteries; Metals; Rechargeable batteries; Salts; solid electrolyte interphase; Solid electrolytes; Thermal instability; thermal safety; elevated temperature; liquid electrolytes; solid electrolyte interphase; lithium metal anodes; thermal safety
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.202002711

Stable operation at elevated temperature is necessary for lithium metal anode. However, Li metal anode generally has poor performance and safety concerns at high temperature (>55 °C) owing to the thermal instability of the electrolyte and solid electrolyte interphase in a routine liquid electrolyte. Herein a Li metal anode working at an elevated temperature (90 °C) is demonstrated in a thermotolerant electrolyte. In a Li|LiFePO4 battery working at 90 °C, the anode undergoes 100 cycles compared with 10 cycles in a practical carbonate electrolyte. During the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase, independent and incomplete decomposition of Li salts and solvents aggravate. Some unstable intermediates emerge at 90 °C, degenerating the uniformity of Li deposition. This work not only demonstrates a working Li metal anode at 90 °C, but also provides fundamental understanding of solid electrolyte interphase and Li deposition at elevated temperature for rechargeable batteries. A Li metal anode working at 90 °C is demonstrated in a thermotolerant liquid electrolyte. The anode undergoes 100 cycles in a Li|LiFePO4 battery at 90 °C (10 cycles in a practical carbonate electrolyte). High operation temperature promotes independent and incomplete decomposition of Li salts and solvents to form a distinctive solid electrolyte interphase.