Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Three-electrode Coin Cell Preparation and Electrodeposition Analytics for Lithium-ion Batteries
Published on: May 22, 2018
Electrolyte solvents for high voltage lithium ion batteries: ion correlation and specific anion effects in
Anand Narayanan Kirshnamoorthy1, Kristina Oldiges, Martin Winter
1Institute for Computational Physics, University of Stuttgart, Allmandring 3, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
Abstract:
We studied dynamic and structural properties of two lithium conducting salts in the aprotic organic solvent adiponitrile by a combination of atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, quantum chemical calculations, and experimental findings. The outcomes of our simulations reveal significant differences between both lithium salts, namely lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4) and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) at various concentrations, which can be mainly attributed to the solvation behavior of the individual anions. The increased tendency of ion complex formation for LiBF4 is reflected by lower values regarding the measured and computed effective ionic conductivities when compared to LiTFSI. All findings highlight the crucial importance of specific anion effects in combination with molecular details of solvation, and advocate the use of adiponitrile as a beneficial solvent in modern lithium ion battery technology with high voltage electrodes.
Related Concept Videos
Ions and Ionic Charges
Ion Channels
Ion channels are specialized integral membrane proteins on the plasma membrane that allow...
Voltage-gated Ion Channels
Generally, all voltage-gated ion channels have a 'voltage-sensing domain' that spans the lipid bilayer. The charged residues in the sensor move in response to the membrane potential changes that open the channel allowing ions movement. There are several types of...
Batteries and Fuel Cells
Precipitation of Ions
The equation that describes the equilibrium between solid calcium carbonate and its solvated ions is:
Ions as Acids and Bases
Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions, either of which may be capable of undergoing an acid or base ionization reaction with water. Aqueous salt solutions, therefore, may be acidic, basic, or neutral, depending on the relative acid-base strengths of the salt’s constituent ions. For example, dissolving the ammonium chloride in water results in its dissociation, as described by the equation:

