Tetrahydrothiophene 1-oxide as highly effective co-solvent for propylene carbonate-based electrolytes

Propylene carbonate (PC) together with cyclic sulfur compounds such as tetrahydrothiophene 1-oxide (THT1oxide) as co-solvent and lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) as conducting salt are introduced as new aprotic liquid electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. Starting with the single solvent electrolyte LiPF6 in PC, by addition of THT1oxide, the ion transport properties even at temperatures down to similar to 20 degrees C are improved by the different solvation behavior of Li+ ions due to the high Li+ ion affinity of the sulfinyl (-S=O) group and by the resulting decrease of the Li+ ion complex size. Electrolytes that contain Li+ ion complexes with both PC and THT1oxide molecules in the solvation shell are able to form protective interphase layers on graphite and NCM111 (LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2) electrodes that are both permeable for Li+ ions while ensuring good electronic insulation, thus enabling stable cycling in lithium-ion cells with only minor capacity fading. THT1oxide/PC-based electrolytes afford better long-term as well as low temperature cycling behavior compared to established state-of-the-art (SOTA) organic carbonate-based electrolytes. The obtained results allow for the design of new co-solvents for PC and comparable cyclic organic carbonates, and provide a non-toxic and cheap alternative to crown ethers without affecting the Li+ ion transference/transport numbers.