1089
Liquefied Gas Electrolytes for Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

Thursday, 23 June 2016
Riverside Center (Hyatt Regency)
C. S. Rustomji, Y. Yang, T. Kim, E. Caldwell, H. Yoon, and Y. S. Meng (University of California, San Diego)
Using electrolytes based on Liquefied Gas Solvents, high performance of both Li-Ion Batteries and Electrochemical Capacitors at temperatures as low as -60 °C has been demonstrated for the first time. Current Li‑Ion technology necessitates the use of particular electrolyte solvents which are highly viscous and have relatively low electrolytic conductivity, preventing high performance below -20 °C. Further, Electrochemical Capacitors commonly use a toxic electrolyte for operation down to ‑40 °C. Using mild pressures to turn solvents which are typically gaseous at room temperature into a liquid phase, electrolytes with low melting points, low viscosities and moderate dielectric constants have been realized.  A number of various solvent and salt systems have been characterized, some showing exceptionally high electrolytic conductivity over a very broad temperature range for both Li-Ion and Electrochemical Capacitor electrolytes. Novel mechanisms for the superior ionic conductivity in these solvents have been studied. Further, these solvents show a wide potential window of stability which may enable high voltage devices. We gratefully acknowledge funding from DOE ARPA-E (DE-AR0000646).