Suppressing Li Dendrites via Electrolyte Engineering by Crown Ethers for Lithium Metal Batteries

Electrolyte engineering is considered as an effective strategy to establish stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI), and thus to suppress the growth of lithium dendrites. In a recent study reported in Advanced Functional Materials by Ma group, discovered that strong coordination force could be founded between 15-Crown-5 ether (15-C-5) and Li+, which facilitates the crown ether (15-C-1) to participate in the solvation structure of Li+ in the electrolyte for the same purpose. Such a novel strategy might impact the design of high-performance and safe lithium metal batteries (LMBs).