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Updated: Mar 12, 2026

Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
All-Cyclic-Solvent Electrolyte Design Enables Ultra-Low-Temperature and Fast-Charging Sodium-Ion Batteries
Zongbin Luo1, Linyu Hu2, Yong Ye1
1College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Conventional sodium-ion battery (SIB) electrolytes are typically composed of mixed cyclic and linear carbonates, which face critical challenges at low temperatures, including solvent crystallization and sluggish Na+ transport. In this work, we developed a low-cost, all-cyclic-solvent electrolyte in which cyclic ethers, tetrahydrofuran (THF) and cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), are gradually introduced into the high-polarity cyclic carbonates, propylene carbonate (PC) and ethylene carbonate (EC), systematically reconstructing the Na+ solvation structure. Competitive coordination between the high-polarity cyclic carbonates and low-polarity cyclic ethers generates an anion-rich solvation environment, simultaneously suppressing electrolyte crystallization and lowering Na+ desolvation energy. The optimized electrolyte exhibits high ionic conductivity, an ultralow freezing point (< -130°C), and excellent interfacial stability, enabling outstanding performance, including ultra-fast charging (89.9 mAh g- 1 at 50 C), extreme low-temperature operation (57% capacity retention at -70°C), and ultra-long cycling stability (>10000 cycles). Its practical applicability was further validated using 26700 cylindrical cells, which demonstrated stable cycling for over 2000 cycles at room temperature and maintained stable performance at -40°C. The cells exhibited high safety under abuse conditions, including thermal abuse and nail penetration. This design strategy can be generalized to other all-cyclic-solvent systems, providing a universal approach for low-cost, fast-charging, ultralow-temperature SIBs.
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