A review on the development of electrolytes for lithium-based batteries for low temperature applications

Abstract

The aerospace industry relies heavily on lithium-ion batteries in instrumentation such as satellites and land rovers. This equipment is exposed to extremely low temperatures in space or on the Martian surface. The extremely low temperatures affect the discharge characteristics of the battery and decrease its available working capacity. Various solvents, cosolvents, additives, and salts have been researched to fine tune the conductivity, solvation, and solid-electrolyte interface forming properties of the electrolytes. Several different resistive phenomena have been investigated to precisely determine the most limiting steps during charge and discharge at low temperatures. Longer mission lifespans as well as self-reliance on the chemistry are now highly desirable to allow low temperature performance rather than rely on external heating components. As Martian rovers are equipped with greater instrumentation and demands for greater energy storage rise, new materials also need to be adopted involving next generation lithium-ion chemistry to increase available capacity. With these objectives in mind, tailoring of the electrolyte with higher-capacity materials such as lithium metal and silicon anodes at low temperatures is of high priority. This review paper highlights the progression of electrolyte research for low temperature performance of lithium-ion batteries over the previous several decades.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

electrolyte / lithium-ion / low temperature / aerospace / solid-electrolyte interface

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA (No. 80NSSC19M0152).

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