A Weak-Fluorine-Bond Molecule Stabilizes Hard Carbon Anodes for Practical Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Liao, Yaqi; Liu, Han; Zhang, Yangqian; Yang, Jiayi; Ji, Haijin; Wang, Donghai; Yuan, Lixia; Huang, Yunhui et al. · ACS Nano · 2025

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is essential for improving the cycling stability in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) by preventing direct contact between electrolytes and hard carbon (HC) anodes. Conventional C-F bond molecules like fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) show poor SEI formation due to early sodium-ion adsorption on HC, delaying additive reduction. Herein, methyl 2, 2-difluoro-2-(fluorosulfonyl) acetate (MDFA), a weak-fluorine-bond molecule, is proposed to facilitate early SEI formation and suppress parasitic reactions. The strong electron-withdrawing O=S=O group destabilizes the S-F bond, enabling preferential reduction of MDFA and formation of inorganic SEI components that enhance ionic conductivity and accelerate interfacial charge transfer. As a result, the HC with MDFA shows over 5000 stable cycles and delivers a high capacity of 252 mAh g<sup>-1</sup> at 5 C, outperforming 108 mAh g<sup>-1</sup> of that with FEC. A 4.6 Ah pouch cell with MDFA enables 89.3% capacity retention after 1000 cycles. These findings provide valuable insights into fluorine-bond chemistry for the electrolyte additive design in long-life SIBs.