Electrochemical performance of novel electrolyte solutions based on organoboron magnesium salts

A novel boron based electrolyte system based on reaction of tri(3,5-dimethylphenyl)borane (Mes(3)B) and PhMgCl in THF solution is proposed for the potential application in rechargeable magnesium battery. The optimized composition of Mes(3)B-(PhMgCl)(2)/THF electrolyte solution presents high ionic conductivity(ca. 2 x 10(-3) S/cm in 0.5 M solution) at room temperature, excellent Mg deposition reversibility as well as the highest anodic potential to date (3.5 V vs. Mg RE). The initial results indicate that the high-performance of the Mes(3)B-(PhMgCl)(2) electrolyte might be attributed to non-covalent interactions arising from the excess amount of Grignard reagent PhMgCl. This study opens the door to the development of boron based electrolyte chemistry for high-energy rechargeable Mg batteries. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.