Thermal runaway of Lithium-ion batteries employing LiN(SO<sub>2</sub>F)<sub>2</sub>-based concentrated electrolytes.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 33037217.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-18868-w and PMC identifier 7547674.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Concentrated electrolytes usually demonstrate good electrochemical performance and thermal stability, and are also supposed to be promising when it comes to improving the safety of lithium-ion batteries due to their low flammability. Here, we show that LiN(SO<sub>2</sub>F)<sub>2</sub>-based concentrated electrolytes are incapable of solving the safety issues of lithium-ion batteries. To illustrate, a mechanism based on battery material and characterizations reveals that the tremendous heat in lithium-ion batteries is released due to the reaction between the lithiated graphite and LiN(SO<sub>2</sub>F)<sub>2</sub> triggered thermal runaway of batteries, even if the concentrated electrolyte is non-flammable or low-flammable. Generally, the flammability of an electrolyte represents its behaviors when oxidized by oxygen, while it is the electrolyte reduction that triggers the chain of exothermic reactions in a battery. Thus, this study lights the way to a deeper understanding of the thermal runaway mechanism in batteries as well as the design philosophy of electrolytes for safer lithium-ion batteries.