Project R-13237

Charge Transport and Kinetics in Sparingly Solvating Electrolytes for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries (Research)

There is a strong tendency in the academic and industrial battery communities to move beyond the conventional lithium-ion technology to boost energy density and reduce the cost for the energy storage purposes in different sectors. Much progress has been made in fabricating long-life and stable sulfur cathodes, and this has brought lithium-sulfur technology ever closer to the marketplace. Recently the application of sparingly solvating electrolytes showed great promise in mitigating the degradation phenomena and increasing the stability of lithium-sulfur batteries. Sparingly solvating electrolytes that dissolve only a small fraction of polysulfides emerge as a promising electrolyte for lithium-sulfur batteries. In contrast to a complete solid-state reaction, the presence of a small fraction of dissolved polysulfides can enable solution-based polysulfide disproportionation reactions at the interface, which contributes to faster kinetics. Through such a unique reaction scenario —a quasi-solid state reaction— one may achieve a balance among suppressed polysulfide shuttling, a low electrolyte volume, and fast reaction kinetics. In this project, we will search for a mechanistic and quantitative understanding of the quasi-solid state reaction and its rate-limiting steps to further advance the design of new sparingly solvating electrolytes.

01 November 2022 - 31 October 2026