Electrochemical Properties and Speciation in Mg(HMDS)2-Based Electrolytes for Magnesium Batteries as a Function of Ethereal Solvent Type and Temperature
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Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
Laura C Merrill1, Jennifer L Schaefer1
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame , Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States.
Abstract:
Magnesium batteries are a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries due to the widespread abundance of magnesium and its high specific volumetric energy capacity. Ethereal solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) are commonly used for magnesium-ion electrolytes due to their chemical compatibility with magnesium metal, but the volatile nature of THF is a concern for practical application. Herein, we investigate magnesium bis(hexamethyldisilazide) plus aluminum chloride (Mg(HMDS)2-AlCl3) electrolytes in THF, diglyme, and tetraglyme at varying temperature. We find that, despite the higher thermal stability of the glyme-based electrolytes, THF-based electrolytes have better reversibility at room temperature. Deposition/stripping efficiency is found to be a strong function of temperature. Diglyme-based Mg(HMDS)2-AlCl3 electrolytes are found to not exchange as quickly as THF and tetraglyme, stabilizing AlCl2+ and facilitating undesired aluminum deposition. Raman spectroscopy, 27Al NMR, and mass spectrometry are used to identify solution speciation.
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