SBIR Phase I: High-Performance, Low-Cost Anode-Free Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles and Consumer Electronics

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是为电动汽车（EV）电池组创建一种新型的锂离子电池。乘用车占全球石油消费量的27%。该材料将使一种新的经济实惠的远程电动汽车能够通过将电池尺寸减少65%和电池成本降低40%来降低电池成本。该SBIR第一阶段项目提出使用电化学和薄膜表征技术来了解形成条件和电解质组成对无阳极固体电解质界面（SEI）生成的影响。在缺乏强有力的SEI的情况下，无阳极电池经历快速的容量损失，这源于“苔藓状”锂生长或急剧的电解质分解。这些降解途径导致电池在室温下通常运行少于50个循环。将使用扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）以及常规电化学技术分析恒电流充电/放电期间形成温度和电流密度对无阳极SEI形成的影响。这些技术还将测量不同电解质盐/溶剂组成对无阳极SEI形成的影响。将通过恒电流充电/放电评估温度对优化SEI条件下循环寿命的依赖性。该项目的主要目标是阐明形成条件和电解质成分，从而产生具有理想锂镶嵌柱的光滑SEI层，该锂镶嵌柱能够在室温下可逆循环，容量衰减最小。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to create a new type of lithium-ion battery for electric vehicle (EV) battery packs. Passenger vehicles representing 27% of global oil consumption. The proposed material will enable a new affordable, long-range EV reducing battery costs by reducing the battery size by 65% and the cell cost by up to 40%. This SBIR Phase I project proposes to understand the influence of formation conditions and electrolyte composition on the generation of anode-free solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) using electrochemical and thin film characterization techniques. In the absence of a robust SEI, anode-free batteries experience rapid capacity loss that stems from either “mossy” lithium growth or precipitous electrolyte decomposition. These degradation routes result in cells that typically function for less than 50 cycles at room temperature. The impact of formation temperature and current density on anode-free SEI formation during galvanostatic charge/discharge will be analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) as well as conventional electrochemical techniques. These techniques will also measure the impact of varying electrolyte salt/solvent compositions on anode-free SEI formation. The dependence of temperature on cycle life with the optimized SEI conditions will be evaluated through galvanostatic charge/discharge. The key objective of the project is to clarify the formation conditions and electrolyte composition that results in the generation of a smooth SEI layer featuring ideal lithium mosaic columns capable of reversibly cycling with minimal capacity fade at room temperature.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.