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KAIST team shows blended electrolyte improves cycling of Li-air battery

A team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) reports that use of a blended electrolyte, consisting of a carbonate solvent and an ionic liquid, improves the cycle lives of Li–O2 batteries remarkably through a synergistic effect from both components. The paper is published in the journal ChemSusChem.

Among the challenges facing the commercialization of high energy density Li-air batteries is poor cycle life.

Despite their exceptionally large specific capacities, the use of Li–O2 batteries has been limited because of their poor cycle lives, which originates from irreversible reaction processes during each cycle. Recent investigations have found that electrolyte decomposition is one of the most critical reasons for capacity decay.

—Kim et al.

The KAIST team found that both electrolyte components perform complementary functions to each other: The ionic liquid suppresses the decomposition of the carbonate solvent, and the carbonate solvent resolves the poor ionic conductivity of the ionic liquid.

Resources

  • Kim, B. G., Lee, J.-N., Lee, D. J., Park, J.-K. and Choi, J. W. (2013), Robust Cycling of Li–O2 Batteries through the Synergistic Effect of Blended Electrolytes. ChemSusChem. doi: 10.1002/cssc.201200801

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