Recently, the research team led by Zheng Liang has made a significant research breakthrough. Their findings, entitled "Fast-formed hybrid interphase enables enhanced kinetics for high-voltage and fast-charging lithium-ion batteries", have been published in the journal CCS Chemistry.

Article abstract:

High-voltage lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) offer a promising solution for next-generation energy storage. However, their development is hindered by harmful parasitic reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interfaces, particularly with high-potential cathodes (≥4.5 V vs Li/Li+). Herein, we optimize a sulfonate-based electrolyte with a strong solvation structure by manipulating the interactions between solvents and lithium salts. This electrolyte exhibits an electron-rich solvation environment and demonstrates a preferential oxidation characteristic at 3.7 V, facilitating the fast-formed hybrid cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) containing abundant inorganic components such as Li2SO3 and LiF. Notably, we found that this electrochemically enhanced CEI with rapid Li+ transport compensates for the inherent kinetic limitations in bulk electrolytes associated with strong solvation. As a result, the effect enables dramatically improved cycle and rate performance of 4.7 V-charged 5-Ah graphite||LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 pouch cells, with a high energy density of up to 319.1 Wh kg−1, a capacity retention of 94.5% after 350 cycles, as well as a 5 C fast-charging ability. We believe the proposed strategy could unveil new opportunities for developing an effective electrolyte for practical LIBs with high-voltage and fast-charging capability.