Investigation of Novel Electrolyte Formulations for Li4Ti5O12/LiMn2O4 Cells

Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Grand Ballroom (The Hilton Atlanta)
B. Lucht, J. Kim (University of Rhode Island), M. Payne, J. Hoffmann, and M. Milien (Gotion)
Lithium titanate (LTO) has been investigated as one of the leading anode materials for lithium ion batteries in grid storage and automotive applications. However, one of the primary challenges is cell gassing which can significantly limit life of cells despite the excellent lifetime performance of LTO anodes. Gas evolution has been previously attributed to water impurities from the electrolyte, moisture trapped in the electrode, the breakdown of lithium salt forming hydrofluoric acid (HF), and/or solvent reactions with the surface of the electrode. The role of electrolyte formulation with and with additives in performance of Li4Ti5O12/LiMn2O4 cells has been investigated. ATR-IR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to gain an understanding of the surface films formed with different additives while in-situ gas measurements based on Archimedes’ principle and gas chromatography have given insight into how the implementation of these additives affects gassing. The results from this study enable the selective design of surface films for LTO anodes, which reduces gassing at elevated temperatures without sacrificing performance.