How do electrolyte additives work?

Electrolyte additives play an enormous role in increasing the lifetime of Li-ion batteries by over twenty times¹.  The way that additives improve cycle and calendar lifetime is not understood in detail in spite of the publication of hundreds of journal papers from authors around the world.  We couple fundamental studies of additives and their impact with the advanced diagnostic methods to move rapidly forward.

Research Topics

• Symmetric cells to study where additives act
• GC-MS studies
• Pouch cell studies
• Quantum Chemistry

References

1. J.C. Burns, Adil Kassam, N.N. Sinha, L.E. Downie, Lucie Solnickova, B.M. Way and J.R. Dahn, Predicting and Extending the Lifetime of Li-ion Batteries, J. Electrochem. Soc. 160, A1451-A1456 (2013).