High-Polarity Fluoroalkyl Ether Electrolyte Enables Solvation-Free Li⁺ Transfer for High-Rate Lithium Metal Batteries

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have aroused extensive interest in the field of energy storage owing to the ultrahigh anode capacity. However, strong solvation of Li⁺ and slow interfacial ion transfer associated with conventional electrolytes limit their long-cycle and high-rate capabilities. Herein an electrolyte system based on fluoroalkyl ether 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl-1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropyl ether (THE) and ether electrolytes is designed to effectively upgrade the long-cycle and high-rate performances of LMBs. THE owns large adsorption energy with ether-based solvents, thus reducing Li⁺ interaction and solvation in ether electrolytes. With THE rich in fluoroalkyl groups adjacent to oxygen atoms, the electrolyte owns ultrahigh polarity, enabling solvation-free Li⁺ transfer with a substantially decreased energy barrier and ten times enhancement in Li⁺ transference at the electrolyte/anode interface. In addition, the uniform adsorption of fluorine-rich THE on the anode and subsequent LiF formation suppress dendrite formation and stabilize the solid electrolyte interphase layer. With the electrolyte, the lithium metal battery with a LiFePO₄ cathode delivers unprecedented cyclic performances with only 0.0012% capacity loss per cycle over 5000 cycles at 10 C. Such enhancement is consistently observed for LMBs with other mainstream electrodes including LiCoO₂ and LiNi_0.5 Mn_0.3 Co_0.2 O₂ , suggesting the generality of the electrolyte design for battery applications.