A new approach to both high safety and high performance of lithium-ion batteries.

Ge, Shanhai; Leng, Yongjun; Liu, Teng; Longchamps, Ryan S; Yang, Xiao-Guang; Gao, Yue; Wang, Daiwei; Wang, Donghai et al. · Sci Adv · 2020

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

We present a novel concept to achieve high performance and high safety simultaneously by passivating a Li-ion cell and then self-heating before use. By adding a small amount of triallyl phosphate in conventional electrolytes, we show that resistances of the passivated cells can increase by ~5×, thereby ensuring high safety and thermal stability. High power before battery operation is delivered by self-heating to an elevated temperature such as 60°C within tens of seconds. The present approach of building a resistive cell with highly stable materials and then delivering high power on demand through rapid thermal stimulation leads to a revolutionary route to high safety when batteries are not in use and high battery performance upon operation.