“Water-in-salt” electrolyte enables high-voltage aqueous lithium-ion chemistries
Abstract
Aqueous electrolytes are limited to run below 1.23 V to avoid degradation. Suo et al. smash through this limit with an aqueous salt solution containing lithium (Li) bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl)imide to create an electrolyte that has an electrochemical window of 3 V (see the Perspective by Smith and Dunn). They used extremely high-concentration solutions, which suppressed hydrogen evolution and electrode oxidation. At these concentrations, the Li solvation shell changes because there simply is not enough water to neutralize the Li + charge. Thus, flammable organic electrolytes could potentially be replaced with a safer aqueous alternative.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 20, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aab1595
Entities
People
- Chao Luo
- Chunsheng Wang
- Janet Ho
- Kang Xu
- Liumin Suo
- Marco Olguin
- Oleg Borodin
- Tao Gao
- Xiulin Fan
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory
- University of Maryland