The cycling performances of lithium–sulfur batteries in TEGDME/DOL containing LiNO3 additive

The cycling performance of lithium–sulfur batteries in binary electrolytes based on tetra(ethylene glycol)dimethyl ether (TEGDME) and 1,3-dioxolane(DOL) with lithium nitrate (LiNO₃) additive were investigated. The highest ionic conductivity was obtained for 1 M LiN(CF₃SO₂)₂ (LiTFSI) in TEGDME/DOL?=?33:67(volume ratio)-based electrolyte. The cyclic efficiency of lithium–sulfur batteries was dramatically increased with LiNO₃ additive as a shuttle inhibitor in electrolytes. The lithium–sulfur cell assembled with 1 M LiTFSI in TEGDME/DOL containing 0.2 M LiNO₃ additive for electrolyte, the elemental sulfur for cathode, and the lithium metal for anode demonstrated the initial discharge capacity of about 900 mAh g^?1 and an enhanced cycling performance.     

Synthesis and electrochemical behavior of Li2CoSiO4 cathode with pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquid electrolyte for lithium ion batteries

Li₂CoSiO₄, a silicate olivine cathode for lithium rechargeable batteries, is synthesized for the first time by sol–gel method using polyacrylic acid (PAA) as the chelating agent. Coupled thermal and vibrational analysis of the gel and also the X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the formation of the sample at 800 °C. 1-Butyl-1-methyl pyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (BMPyTFSI) solutions of lithium bis(trifuloromethansulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) having a concentration of 0.2 mol kg^?1 is used as electrolyte. The electrochemical stability window of this electrolyte is found to be >5 V by linear sweep voltammetry technique. The compatibility of Li₂CoSiO₄ with 0.2 mol kg^?1 LiTFSI-BMPyTFSI electrolyte is tested by charge–discharge cycles which show charging and discharging capacities of about 204 and 32 mAh g^?1, respectively, in the first cycle.     

Study on ionic conductivity of polymer electrolyte plasticized with PEG–aluminate ester for rechargeable lithium ion battery

We have synthesized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-aluminate ester as a plasticizer for solid polymer electrolytes. The thermal stability, ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability of the polymer electrolyte which consist of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based copolymer, PEG–aluminate ester and lithium bis-trifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI) were investigated. Addition of PEG–aluminate ester increased the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte, showing greater than 10^− 4 S cm^− 1 at 30 °C. The polymer electrolyte containing PEG–aluminate ester retained thermal stability of the non-additive polymer electrolyte and exhibited electrochemical stability up to 4.5 V vs. Li⁺/Li at 30 °C.     

激发态下甘氨酸与水分子间氢键性质研究

在生物体中氨基酸通常以水作为溶剂,是形成细胞的重要成分.在该环境下,分子间氢键的产生会对氨基酸分子与水分子的结构和性质产生影响.为了研究其在基态和激发态下的性质,本文利用密度泛函理论(DFT)和含时密度泛函理论(TD-DFT)对甘氨酸分子和H₂O分子在基态和激发态下的分子间氢键的静电势、键长、自然键轨道(NBO)电荷、分子中的原子理论(AIM)分析、Wiberg键级b、红外(IR)光谱、空穴-电子轨道和基态与激发态之间的电子转移进行了理论研究.结果表明：分子间氢键的形成会导致分子结构的改变和红外光谱振动频率的移动.在激发态下,分子间氢键有不同程度的增强或减弱.该计算结果为氢键的形成和激发态下分子间氢键的研究提供理论依据.     

Polymer electrolytes based on polycarbonates and their electrochemical and thermal properties

Polycarbonates (4a–d) with various side chain lengths were synthesized by the reaction of 1,4-bis(hydroxyethoxy)benzene derivatives and triphosgene in the presence of pyridine. The polymer electrolytes composed of 4a–d with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiN(SO₂CF₃)₂, LiTFSI) were prepared, and their ionic conductivities and thermal and electrochemical properties were investigated. 4d-Based polymer electrolyte showed the highest ionic conductivity values of 1.0?×?10^?4?S/cm at 80 °C and 1.5?×?10^?6?S/cm at 30 °C, respectively, at the [LiTFSI]/[repeating unit] ratio of 1/2. Ionic conductivities of these polycarbonate-based polymer electrolytes showed the tendency of increase with increasing the chain length of oxyethylene moieties as side chains, suggestive of increased steric hindrance by side chains. Unique properties were observed for the 4a(n?=?0)-based polymer electrolyte without an oxyethylene moiety. All of polycarbonate-based polymer electrolytes showed good electrochemical and thermal stabilities as polymer electrolytes for battery application.     

Improving the self-discharge behavior of sulfur-polypyrrole cathode material by LiNO3 electrolyte additive

Self-discharge characteristics of Li/S cells using pure sulfur and sulfur-polypyrrole (S-PPy) cathode materials and lithium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (LiTFSI) as the electrolyte salt were investigated by monitoring the open circuit voltage, the electrochemical impedance change, and the capacity loss during or after storage at room temperature. Corrosion behavior of the aluminum current collector was studied using linear sweep voltammetry and optical microscope observations of aluminum substrate in aged cells. The results showed that the cell with a pure sulfur cathode suffered from severe self-discharge, which is attributed to the corrosion of the current collector by LiTFSI and a rapid shuttle mechanism. However, a PPy coating on the surface of sulfur particles can suppress the shuttle effect, giving better self-discharge performance. LiNO₃ was investigated as a suitable electrolyte additive to prevent the self-discharge of Li/S cells. A self-discharge rate of 3.1 % was obtained for a cell with an S-PPy cathode and a modified electrolyte containing 0.4 M LiNO₃. It was found that LiNO₃ acts both as a corrosion inhibitor and a shuttle inhibitor. This respectively reduces the transformation of solid sulfur to soluble lithium polysulfides and prevents the dissolved sulfur and generated polysulfides from chemical reaction with the Li anode.     

An investigation on PAN-PVC-LiTFSI based polymer electrolytes system

Polymer-salt complex with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) as host polymers blended with lithium bis-(trifluoro methanesulfonyl)imide, LiTFSI [LiN(CF₃SO₂)₂] as dopant salt were prepared in the form of thin film. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) studies show the evidence of the complexation between PVC, PAN and LiTFSI. Ionic conductivity studies reveal that polymer electrolyte with 30 wt.% LiTFSI has the highest ionic conductivity of 4.39 × 10^− 4 S/cm at room temperature. The polymer electrolytes are also found to be stable up to 315 °C before they decompose. Thermal stability of the polymer electrolytes was also found to increase with increase in salt content. This was proven through thermogravimetric studies.     

Hydrogen-bonding studies of amino acid side-chains with DNA base pairs

The interactions of the amino acid side-chains arginine (ARG), aspartic acid (ASP), asparagine (ASN), lysine (LYS) and serine (SER) with nucleic acid base pairs have been investigated using theoretical methods. The interaction energy of the short intermolecular N–H?···?N, N–H?···?O, O–H?···?O, O–H?···?N, C–H?···?O and C–H?···?N hydrogen bonds present in both isolated base pairs and complexes and its role in providing stability to the complexes have been explored. The homonuclear interactions are found to be stronger than the heteronuclear interactions. An improper hydrogen bond has been observed for some of the N–H?···?O and N–H?···?N hydrogen-bond interactions with the contraction of the N–H bond varying from 0.001 to 0.0260?Å and the corresponding blue shift of the stretching frequency by 4–291?cm^?1. Localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis (LMOEDA) reveals that the major contributions to the energetics are from the long-range polarization (PL) interaction, and the short-range attractive (ES, EX) and repulsive (REP) interactions. The Bader's atoms in molecules (AIM) theory shows good correlation for the electron density and its Laplacian at the bond critical points (BCP) with the N–H?···?N and N–H?···?O hydrogen-bond lengths in the complexes, and gives a proper explanation for the stability of the structure. The charge-transfer from the proton acceptor to the antibonding orbital of the X–H bond in the complexes was studied using natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis.     

Intermolecular interactions,ion solvation,and association in mixtures of 1‐n‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate and γ‐butyrolactone: insights from Raman spectroscopy

By means of Raman spectroscopy coupled with density functional theory (DFT) calculations and perturbation correlation moving window two‐dimensional correlation spectroscopy intermolecular interactions were assessed in mixtures of ionic liquid (IL) 1‐n‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BmimPF₆) with polar aprotic solvent γ‐butyrolactone (γ‐BL) over the entire range of compositions. The symmetrical P―F stretching vibration of the IL anion was found to be insensitive to the changes in mixture concentration in contrast to the CO stretching vibration of the γ‐BL and the imidazolium ring C―H stretching vibrations of the IL cation. Each of these vibrational profiles was decomposed in various spectral contributions, and their number was rationalized by the results of quantum‐chemical calculations and/or previous controversial published data. Progressive redshift of the ring C―H stretching wavenumbers was referred to pronounced solvation of the cation at the imidazolium ring site accompanied with H‐bond formation. This was especially pronounced at IL mole fraction less than 0.18. Complicated variations in the intensities of the individual contributions of the CO profile were treated as a manifestation of the changing with concentration pattern of the intermolecular interactions. The self‐association of γ‐BL molecules and distinct cation solvation as dominant intermolecular interactions at low IL content are replaced with weaker cation solvation and ion association at high concentrations of IL. Possible representative molecular structures were proposed on the basis of DFT calculations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ionic liquid-based electrolyte with dual-functional LiDFOB additive toward high-performance LiMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> batteries

Manganese oxide-based cathodes are one of the most promising lithium-ion battery (LIB) cathode materials due to their cost-effectiveness, high discharge voltage plateau (above 4.0 V vs. Li/Li⁺), superior rate capability, and environmental benignity. However, these batteries using conventional LiPF₆-based electrolytes suffer from Mn dissolution and poor cyclic capability at elevated temperature. In this paper, the ionic liquid (IL)-based electrolytes, consisting of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfon)imidate (PYR_1,4-TFSI), propylene carbonate (PC), lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfon)imide (LiTFSI), and lithium oxalyldifluoroborate (LiDFOB) additive, were explored for improving the high temperature performance of the LiMn₂O₄ batteries. It was demonstrated that LiTFSI-ILs/PC electrolyte associated with LiDFOB addition possessed less Mn dissolution and Al corrosion at the elevated temperature in LiMn₂O₄/Li batteries. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy implied that this kind of electrolyte also contributed to the formation of a highly stable solid electrolyte interface (SEI), which was in accordance with the polarization measurement and the Li deposition morphology of the symmetric lithium metal cell, thus beneficial for improving the cycling performance of the LiMn₂O₄ batteries at the elevated temperature. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy implied that the cells using this kind of electrolyte exhibited better interfacial stability, which was further verified by the polarization measurement and the Li deposition morphology of the symmetric lithium metal cell, thus beneficial for improving the cycling performance of the LiMn₂O₄ batteries at the elevated temperature. These unique characteristics would endow this kind of electrolyte a very promising candidate for the manganese oxide-based batteries.     

Influence of the lithium salt nature over the surface film formation on a graphite electrode in Li-ion batteries: An XPS study

The formation of a passivation film (solid electrolyte interphase, SEI) at the surface of the negative electrode of full LiCoO₂/graphite lithium-ion cells using different salts (LiBF₄, LiPF₆, LiTFSI, LiBETI) in carbonate solvents as electrolyte was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The analyzes were carried out at different potential stages of the first cycle, showing the potential-dependent character of the surface film species formation and the specificity of each salt. At 3.8 V, for all salts, we have mainly identified carbonated species. Beyond this potential, the specific behavior of LiPF₆ was identified with a high LiF deposit, whereas for other salts, the formation process of the SEI appears controlled by the solvent decomposition of the electrolyte.     

Effects of plasticizer and nanofiller on the dielectric dispersion and relaxation behaviour of polymer blend based solid polymer electrolytes

Solid polymer electrolytes consisted of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blend (50:50 wt/wt%) with lithium triflate (LiCF₃SO₃) as a dopant ionic salt at stoichiometric ratio [EO + (CO)]:Li⁺ = 9:1, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as plasticizer (10 wt%) and montmorillonite (MMT) clay as nanofiller (3 wt%) have been prepared by solution cast followed by melt–pressing method. The X–ray diffraction study infers that the (PEO–PMMA)–LiCF₃SO₃ electrolyte is predominantly amorphous, but (PEO–PMMA)–LiCF₃SO₃–10 wt% PEG electrolyte has some PEO crystalline cluster, whereas (PEO–PMMA)–LiCF₃SO₃–10 wt% PEG–3 wt% MMT electrolyte is an amorphous with intercalated and exfoliated MMT structures. The complex dielectric function, ac electrical conductivity, electric modulus and impedance spectra of these electrolytes have been investigated over the frequency range 20 Hz to 1 MHz. These spectra have been analysed in terms of the contribution of electrode polarization phenomenon in the low frequency region and the dynamics of cations coordinated polymer chain segments in the high frequency region, and also their variation on the addition of PEG and MMT in the electrolytes. The temperature dependent dc ionic conductivity, dielectric relaxation time and dielectric strength of the plasticized nanocomposite electrolyte obey the Arrhenius behaviour. The mechanism of ions transportation and the dependence of ionic conductivity on the segmental motion of polymer chain, dielectric strength, and amorphicity of these electrolytes have been explored. The room temperature ionic conductivity values of the electrolytes are found ∼10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹, confirming their use in preparation of all-solid-state ion conducting devices.     

FT-Raman spectroscopy study of solvent-in-salt electrolytes

Cation–anion interaction with different ratios of salt to solvent is investigated by FT-Raman spectroscopy. The fitting result of the C–N–C bending vibration manifests that the cation–anion coordination structure changes tremendously with the variation of salt concentration. It is well known that lithium-ion transport in ultrahigh salt concentration electrolyte is dramatically different from that in dilute electrolyte, due to high viscosity and strong cation–anion interaction. In ultrahigh salt concentrated "solvent-in-salt" electrolyte(SIS-7#), we found, on one hand, that the cation and anion in the solution mainly formed cation–anion pairs with a high Li~+coordination number(≥ 1), including intimate ion pairs(20.1%) and aggregated ion pairs(79.9%), which not only cause low total ionic conductivity but also cause a high lithium transference number(0.73). A possible lithium transport mechanism is proposed: in solvent-in-salt electrolytes, lithium ions' direct movement presumably depends on Li-ion exchange between aggregated ion pairs and solvent molecules, which repeats a dissolving and re-complexing process between different oxygen groups of solvent molecules.     

Enhancement effect of lithium bonding on the strength of pnicogen bonds: XH2P···NCLi···NCY as a working model (X = F,Cl; Y = H,F, Cl,CN)

MP2 calculations with aug-cc-pVDZ basis set were used to analyse intermolecular interactions in XH₂P···NCLi···NCY triads (X = F, Cl; Y = H, F, Cl, CN) which are connected via pnicogen bond and lithium bond. To understand the properties of the systems better, the corresponding dyads are also studied. Molecular geometries and interaction energies of dyads, and triads are investigated at the MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ computational level. Particular attention is paid to parameters such as cooperative energies and many-body interaction energies. All studied complexes, with the simultaneous presence of a lithium bond and a pnicogen bond, show cooperativity with energy values ranging between ?4.73 and ?8.88 kJ mol^?1. A linear correlation was found between the interaction energies and magnitude of the product of most positive and negative electrostatic potentials. According to energy decomposition analysis, it is revealed that the electrostatic interactions are the major source of the attraction in the title complexes.     

Dielectric spectra of LiTFSI-doped chitosan/PEO blends

Solid-polymer-blend electrolyte consisting of chitosan and polyethylene oxide (PEO) in a 1:1 weight ratio and doped with lithium trifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI) salt was prepared by solution cast technique. The highest conducting film with conductivity value of 1.40 × 10^-6 S cm⁻¹ at room temperature consists of 30 wt% LiTFSI. The temperature dependence for the highest conducting film obeyed Arrhenius relationship. From loss tangent–frequency plots at different temperatures, the frequency f _max at which the plot is a maximum was obtained. From this, ln f _max vs 10³/T was plotted. The activation energy value obtained from the log σ vs 10³/T plot and ln f _max vs 10³/T plot is about the same, suggesting that the processes of conductivity and relaxation for the charge carriers are the same. This paper was presented at the International Conference on Solid State Science and Technology 2006, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, Sept. 4–6, 2006.     

2-F-环氧丁烷与几种生物小分子间的赝氢键结构

采用密度泛函B3LYP(Becke,three-parameter,Lee-Yang-PaH)/6-311++G**和HF(Hartree Fock)/6-311++G**方法,从理论上探讨了2-F-环氧丁烷分别与几种常见而重要的生物小分子咪唑(Iminazole)、噻唑(Thiazole)和恶唑(Oxazo1e)等分子间的弱相互作用,发现分子间同时存在N…H常规氢键和C-F…H-C赝氢键结构.弱相互作用能计算表明3个复合物的相对稳定性相当.计算结果表明,在C-F…H-C赝氢键结构中,与电子的直接供体F密切相关的共价键C-F键长增大,伸缩振动的频率红移,而作为电子受体的H-C基团,其C-H键伸缩振动光谱蓝移;另外,电子密度拓扑性质表明C-F…H-C赝氢键的共价性及离子性均与常规氢键相当.     

Nuclear hyperfine coupling interactions in the rotational spectra of the linear and bent isomers of HF-N2O

The rotational spectra of six isotopomers of the linear and bent isomers of HF-N₂O have been collected in the 7-18 GHz region with a Fourier transform microwave spectrometer. The nuclear hyperfine structure in the spectra produced by HF spin-spin coupling interaction and nuclear quadrupole coupling interactions due to the D nucleus of DF and the nuclei of N₂O have been resolved and analyzed. In the linear isomer, H in HF is bonded to the terminal N in N₂O. The NF bond lengths are 2.9808(2) Å for the HF-containing isotopomers and 2.9732(2) Å for the DF-containing isotopomers. The zero point angles are 23.1° for HF and 31-34° for N₂O. The hyperfine constants suggest that the HF bond is lengthened by 0.0105 Å upon complexation and that the electric field gradients of the two nitrogen nuclei in N₂O are perturbed differently in the complex. In the bent isomer, the hydrogen bond is formed between HF and O in N₂O. The intermolecular distances are 3.4942(2) Å for the HF-containing isotopomers and 3.4436(2) Å for the DF-containing isotopomers, with HF and N₂O forming angles of 34° and 46°, respectively, with the intermolecular axis. The nuclear quadrupole coupling constants of the two nitrogen nuclei do not indicate electric field gradient perturbation in this isomer.     

Polymer electrolyte plasticized with PEG-borate ester having high ionic conductivity and thermal stability

We have focused on the PEG-borate ester as a new type of plasticizer for solid polymer electrolyte composed of poly(ethyleneglycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) and lithium bis-trifluoromethanesulfonimide (LiTFSI). The PEG-borate ester shows good thermal stability and high flash point. Ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte increases with increasing amount of the PEG-borate ester and exhibits values greater than 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C and 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 60 °C. Furthermore, PEG-borate ester has three EO chains whose lengths are variable, and various ionic conductivities are expected to depend on EO chain length. As a result, polymer electrolyte containing the PEG-borate ester whose EO chain length is n=3 shows highest ionic conductivity. Furthermore, polymer electrolytes containing PEG-borate esters show excellent thermal and electrochemical stability. The electrolytes are thermally stable up to 300 °C and electrochemically up to 4.5 V vs. Li⁺/Li.     

Ionic conductivity of electrolytes based on star-branched poly(ethylene oxide) with high concentration of lithium salts

Electrolytes based on star-branched poly(ethylene oxide) with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfone)imide LiTFSI and lithium iodide salts were prepared by casting from solution. The electrical properties of electrolytes subjected to various heating and cooling runs were studied by impedance spectroscopy and impedance spectroscopy simultaneous with optical microscope observation. Differential scanning calorimetry was used for additional characterization. The results indicate that in electrolytes with high content of salt, values of ionic conductivity comparable to that of dilute electrolytes can be achieved. Moreover, electrolytes with high amount of salt seem to show weaker temperature dependence of conductivity. Promising results in terms of ionic conductivity were obtained for mixture of LiTFSI and lithium iodide. A few problems which may decrease the performance of studied system as a solid electrolyte were also identified, from which changes of physical properties of samples subjected to thermal cycles and aging seem to be the most important ones.     

Ionic conductivity,ionic transport and electrochemical characterizations of plastic crystal polymer electrolytes

In this work, the plastic crystal polymer electrolytes (PCPEs), composed of polyacrylonitrile (PAN), succinonitrile (SN) and lithium bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide (LiTFSI) were prepared. The concentrations of lithium salt were varied by weight percentage from 10 wt% to 50 wt%. The ionic conductivity of the PCPE films increases with the increase of lithium salt, where the highest value recorded is in the order of ~10^?2 S cm^?1. The temperature-dependence conductivity analysis shows that the PCPE films exhibit Arrhenius behaviour when subjected to the temperature range from 303 K to 343 K. The decrease in crystallinity was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analyses. The cationic transport number also increases with the increase of salt which corresponds well to their conductivity values. It is found that the films are electrochemically stable up to ~3.6 V as revealed by the linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analysis. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) plots of the films shown no substantial change in the redox peaks which mean that the charge transfer reaction is reversible.