Fluorobenzene, A Low-Density, Economical, and Bifunctional Hydrocarbon Cosolvent for Practical Lithium Metal Batteries

Highly concentrated electrolytes (HCEs) significantly improve the stability of lithium metal anodes, but applications are often impeded by their limitation of density, viscosity, and cost. Here, fluorobenzene (FB), an economical hydrocarbon with low density and low viscosity, is demonstrated as a bifunctional cosolvent to obtain a novel FB diluted highly concentrated electrolyte (FB-DHCE). First, the addition of FB suppresses the decomposition of dimethoxyethane (DME) on the Li metal by strengthening the interactions of DME and FSI(-)around Li+. Second, FB efficiently elevates the content of LiF in the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) based on its electrochemical reduction reaction. The unique solvation and interfacial chemistry of FB-DHCE enable dendrite-free deposition of lithium with high Coulombic efficiency (up to 99.3%) and prolong cycling life (over 500 cycles at 1 mA cm(-2)). The performance of FB-DHCE is further demonstrated in full cells under practical conditions, including ambient to low temperature (-20 degrees C), high areal capacity (7.6 mAh cm(-2)), high current density (3 mA cm(-2)), limited excess Li (20 mu m Li), and lean electrolyte (3 g Ah(-1)). Employing FB as a cosolvent not only opens a novel pathway to stabilize Li metal anodes, but also could greatly advance the development of Li metal batteries.

Automated summary

By using fluorobenzene (FB) as a bifunctional cosolvent, a novel FB diluted highly concentrated electrolyte (FB-DHCE) is developed, enabling dendrite-free deposition of lithium with high Coulombic efficiency and prolonged cycling life for lithium metal anodes.