PNAS 2014-03-04

Nonflammable perfluoropolyether-based electrolytes for lithium batteries.

Dominica H C Wong, Jacob L Thelen, Yanbao Fu, Didier Devaux, Ashish A Pandya, Vincent S Battaglia, Nitash P Balsara, Joseph M DeSimone

Index: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 111(9) , 3327-31, (2014)

Full Text: HTML

Abstract

The flammability of conventional alkyl carbonate electrolytes hinders the integration of large-scale lithium-ion batteries in transportation and grid storage applications. In this study, we have prepared a unique nonflammable electrolyte composed of low molecular weight perfluoropolyethers and bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide lithium salt. These electrolytes exhibit thermal stability beyond 200 °C and a remarkably high transference number of at least 0.91 (more than double that of conventional electrolytes). Li/LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2 cells made with this electrolyte show good performance in galvanostatic cycling, confirming their potential as rechargeable lithium batteries with enhanced safety and longevity.