Studies of Gas Generation, Gas Consumption and Impedance Growth in Li-Ion Cells with Carbonate or Fluorinated Electrolytes Using the Pouch Bag Method

Li[Ni0.42Mn0.42Co0.16]O-2 (NMC442)/graphite pouch cells with an ethylene carbonate-containing or a fluorinated electrolyte were used to prepare charged electrodes for studies using pouch bags. Sealed pouch bags containing either lithiated graphite or delithiated NMC442 electrodes taken from pouch cells, and also sister pouch cells, were subjected to 500 h storage at elevated temperature. The electrodes recovered from the pouch bags and pouch cells after storage were studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy while the gases generated were quantified using gas chromatography. The fluorinated electrolyte suppressed impedance growth of the positive electrode during storage but caused a large initial negative electrode impedance compared to the carbonate electrolyte. The solid electrolyte interface (SEI) formed by the fluorinated electrolyte at the graphite electrode hinders the consumption of CO2 generated at the delithiated NMC442 electrode, leading to more CO2 in pouch cells with fluorinated electrolyte than in cells with carbonate electrolyte. Hydrogen gas was only observed in pouch cells after storage and not in pouch bags which contained either a single negative electrode plus electrolyte or a single positive electrode plus electrolyte, suggesting the H-2 results from a species created at one electrode which reacts at the other in a pouch cell. (C) The Author(s) 2016. Published by ECS.