Two-Dimensional Electrolyte Design: Broadening the Horizons of Functional Electrolytes in Lithium Batteries

Since their commercialization in the 1990s, lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been increasingly used in applications such as portable electronics, electric vehicles, and large-scale energy storage. The increasing use of LIBs in modern society has necessitated superior-performance LIB development, including electrochemical reversibility, interfacial stability, efficient kinetics, environmental adaptability, and intrinsic safety, which is difficult to simultaneously achieve in commercialized electrolytes. Current electrolyte systems contain a solution with Li salts (e.g., LiPF₆) and solvents (e.g., ethylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate), in which the latter dissolves Li salts and strongly interacts with Li⁺ (lithiophilic feature). Only lithiophilic agents can be functionally modified (e.g., additives and solvents), altering the bulk and interfacial behaviors of Li⁺ solvates. However, such approaches alter pristine Li⁺ solvation and electrochemical processes, making it difficult to strike a balance between the electrochemical performance and other desired electrolyte functions. This common electrolyte design in lithiophilic solvents shows strong coupling among formulation, coordination, electrochemistry, and electrolyte function. The invention of lithiophobic cosolvents (e.g., multifluorinated ether and fluoroaromatic hydrocarbons) has expanded the electrolyte design space to lithiophilic (interacts with Li⁺) and lithiophobic (interacts with solvents but not with Li⁺) dimensions. Functional modifications switch to lithiophobic cosolvents, affording superior properties (carried by lithiophobic cosolvents) with little impact on primary Li⁺ solvation (dictated by lithiophilic solvents). This electrolyte engineering technique based on lithiophobic cosolvents is the 2D electrolyte (TDE) principle, which decouples formulation, coordination, electrochemistry, and function. The molecular-scale understanding of TDEs is expected to accelerate electrolyte innovations in next-generation LIBs.

This Account provides insights into recent advancements in electrolytes for superior LIBs from the perspective of lithiophobic agents (i.e., lithiophobic additives and cosolvents), establishing a generalized TDE principle for functional electrolyte design. In bulk electrolytes, a microsolvating competition emerges because of cosolvent-induced dipole–dipole and ion–dipole interactions, forming a loose solvation shell and a kinetically favorable electrolyte. At the electrode/electrolyte interface, the lithiophobic cosolvent affords reliable passivation and efficient desolvation, with interfacial compatibility and electrochemical reversibility even under harsh conditions. Based on this unique coordination chemistry, functional electrolytes are formulated without significantly sacrificing their electrochemical performance. First, lithiophobic cosolvents are used to tune Li⁺–solvent affinity and anion mobility, promoting Li⁺ diffusion and electrochemical kinetics of the electrolyte to benefit high-rate and low-temperature applications. Second, the lithiophobic cosolvent undergoes less thermally induced decomposition and constructs a thermally stable interphase in TDEs, affording electrolytes with high-temperature adaptability and cycling stability. Third, the lithiophobic cosolvent modifies the local Li⁺–solvent–anion topography, controlling electrolyte electrochemical reversibility to afford numerous promising solvents that cannot be used in common electrolyte design. Finally, the lithiophobic cosolvent mitigates detrimental crosstalk between flame retardants and carbonate solvents, improving the intrinsic electrolyte safety without compromising electrochemical performance, which broadens the horizons of electrolyte design by optimizing versatile cosolvents and solvents, inspiring new ideas in liquid electrochemistry in other battery systems.