Congratulations to Z. Jiang and Z. Zeng for their joint research paper " Low Concentration Electrolyte with Non-Solvating Cosolvent Enables High-Voltage Lithium Metal Batteries " accepted by Iscience

Abstract

Developing low cost, yet high-voltage electrolyte is significant to improve the energy density and practicability of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Low concentration electrolyte has significant merits in terms of cost and viscosity; however, their poor compatibility with high-voltage LMBs hinders its applications. Here, we develop a diluted low concentration electrolyte by replacing solvating cosolvent with a non-solvating cosolvent to facilitate the interaction between BF₄⁻ and Li, resulting in optimized interfacial chemistry and suppressed side reaction. Thus, the high-loading Li-LiCoO⁺² full cells (20.4 mg cm⁻²) deliver outstanding cycling stability and rate performance at a cutoff voltage of 4.6 V. More impressively, a Li-LiCoO₂ pouch cell achieves an energy density of more than 400 Wh kg⁻¹ under practical conditions with thin Li (50 μm) and lean electrolyte (2.7 g Ah⁻¹). This work provides a rational approach to design a low concentration electrolyte, which can be extended to other high voltage battery systems.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004221014619