A group of scientists led by a team from Zhejiang University of China has developed an electrolyte that promises to significantly improve the performance of lithium batteries in extreme cold and heat. For such a universal electrolyte, it must have a number of incompatible properties, providing high ionic conductivity in both heat and cold. If you believe the new scientific work, scientists were able to invent a universal formula and are ready to promote it.
It’s no secret that electric cars still frighten many car enthusiasts due to both the long battery charge time and the uncertainty about the stable operation of traction batteries in non-ideal weather conditions – hot and cold. The electrolyte proposed by Chinese scientists promises to work without problems in charge and discharge modes even when cooled to -70 °C, while maintaining characteristics even when heated to 50 °C. If such batteries begin to appear in electric vehicles, then faith in electric vehicles will definitely strengthen.
The main secret of the new technology is to select a solvent based on molecules of the smallest possible size. Specifically, the researchers conducted a series of experiments with a solvent called fluoroacetonitrile (FAN), which they say allows lithium-ion batteries to simultaneously achieve high energy density, fast charging, and a wide range of operating temperatures.
As the researchers write in the abstract of the scientific paper, lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and aviation require high energy density, fast charging and a wide range of operating temperatures, which is practically impossible, since this means that the electrolytes will simultaneously have high ionic conductivity, low solvation energy and low melting point to form an anionic inorganic intermediate phase. The paper provides recommendations for the development of such electrolytes using solvents with small molecules with low solvation energy. Nothing is known about the practical implementation of the development.
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