Boosting lithium batteries under harsh operating conditions by a resilient ionogel with liquid-like ionic conductivity

New chemistries are being developed to increase the capacity and power of rechargeable batteries. However, the risk of safety issues increases when high-energy batteries using highly active materials encounter harsh operating conditions. Here we report on the synthesis of a unique ionogel electrolyte for abuse-tolerant lithium batteries. A hierarchically architected silica/polymer scaffold is designed and fabricated through a facile soft chemistry route, which is competent to confine ionic liquids with superior uptake ability (92.4 wt%). The monolithic ionogel exhibits high conductivity and thermal/mechanical stability, featuring high-temperature elastic modulus and dendrite-free lithium cycling. The Li/LiFePO4 pouch cells achieve outstanding cyclability at different temperatures up to 150 degrees C, and can sustain cutting, crumpling, and even coupled thermal-mechanical abuses. Moreover, the solid-state lithium batteries with LiNi0.60Co0.20Mn0.20O2, LiNi0.80Co0.15Al0.05O2, and Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 cathodes demonstrate excellent cycle performances at 60 degrees C. These results indicate that the resilient and high-conductivity ionogel electrolyte is promising to realize high-performance lithium batteries with high energy density and safety. (C) 2021 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The development of new ionogel electrolytes shows promise in enhancing the performance of lithium batteries by maintaining high conductivity and resistance to thermal/mechanical abuse in high-energy batteries, achieving excellent cycle performance and safety.