COMBUSTION CHEMISTRY OF LI-ION BATTERY ELECTROLYTES, THEIR PYROLYSIS PRODUCTS, AND POSSIBLE FIRE SUPPRESSANTS FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE SAFETY

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Lithium-ion batteries are globally used to power the ever-growing number of mobile devices and will play a significant role in the transportation industry for decades to come. The movement toward electric mobility is of strategic importance, as the electricity used to power these vehicles can be produced from a large blend of renewable (solar, wind, biofuels), carbon-free (nuclear) energies, and from fossil fuels within large centralized plants, allowing for higher efficiency, better emissions control, and carbon capture. However, these batteries contain a flammable electrolyte in their battery cells which makes them a safety hazard if they are damaged, such as during a collision of an electric vehicle or in case of default in their conception. Many fire incidents related to electric vehicles have been reported over the past few years. Since Lithium-ion batteries are becoming so important in our lives, the fire safety hazard associated with their usage is also increasing with their size and ubiquity. This project aims at reducing the flammability of the electrolyte by adding specific fire suppressants, an area where a fundamental approach at the chemistry level has never been followed. In the proposed project, the combustion properties of the typical components found in Lithium-ion battery electrolytes and of a mixture of the typical gases ejected during a battery thermal runaway will be investigated experimentally. These combustion properties will be measured using accurate chemical kinetics markers obtained from well-defined experimental techniques and optical diagnostics such as laser absorption spectrometry. Many of these components from the lithium-ion battery electrolyte will be studied for the first time. Similarly, the high-temperature chemistry of specific fire suppressant agents will be investigated, and their fire-suppressing potential will be investigated experimentally as well. The experimental results obtained during the course of this study will be used to develop or refine detailed chemical kinetics mechanisms for the electrolyte components and for the fire suppressants. The successful completion of the project will greatly advance the predictive capabilities on the flammability of LiBs and will potentially allow for reducing their flammability without reducing their performance. A safer use of lithium-ion batteries in many industries could be experienced based on the proposed research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.