Quantifying Species Populations in Multivalent Borohydride Electrolytes

Multivalent batteries represent an important beyond Li-ion energy storage concept. The prospect of calcium batteries, in particular, has emerged recently due to novel electrolyte demonstrations, especially that of a ground-breaking combination of the borohydride salt Ca(BH₄)₂ dissolved in tetrahydrofuran. Recent analysis of magnesium and calcium versions of this electrolyte led to the identification of divergent speciation pathways for Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ despite identical anions and solvents, owing to differences in cation size and attendant flexibility of coordination. To test these proposed speciation equilibria and develop a more quantitative understanding thereof, we have applied pulsed-field-gradient nuclear magnetic resonance and dielectric relaxation spectroscopy to study these electrolytes. Concentration-dependent variation in anion diffusivities and solution dipole relaxations, interpreted with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations, confirms these divergent Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ speciation pathways. These results provide a more quantitative description of the electroactive species populations. We find that these species are present in relatively small quantities, even in the highly active Ca(BH₄)₂/tetrahydrofuran electrolyte. This finding helps interpret previous characterizations of metal deposition efficiency and morphology control and thus provides important fundamental insight into the dynamic properties of multivalent electrolytes for next-generation batteries.