Lithium Ion Batteries Operated at $-100\,^{\circ}\!$C
Jianli Gai1, Jirong Yang1, Wei Yang1*, Quan Li2, Xiaodong Wu1,4,5, and Hong Li1,2,3*
1Tianmu Lake Institute of Advanced Energy Storage Technologies Co., Ltd., Liyang 213300, China 2Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China 3Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China 4i-Lab, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics (SINANO), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China 5School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
Abstract：Enabling lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) to operate in a wider temperature range, e.g., as low or high as possible or capable of both, is an urgent need and shared goal. Here we report, for the first time, a low-temperature electrolyte consisting of traditional ethylene carbonate, methyl acetate, butyronitrile solvents, and 1 M LiPF$_{6}$ salt, attributed to its very low freezing point ($T_{\rm f} = -126.3\,^{\circ}\!$C) and high ion conductivity at extremely low temperatures (0.21 mS/cm at $-100\,^{\circ}\!$C), successfully extends the service temperature of a practical 9.6 Ah LIB down to $-100\,^{\circ}\!$C (49.6% capacity retention compared to that at room temperature), which is the lowest temperature reported for practical cells so far as we know, and is lower than the lowest natural temperature ($-89.2\,^{\circ}\!$C) recorded on earth. Meanwhile, the high-temperature performance of lithium-ion batteries is not affected. The capacity retention is 88.2% and 83.4% after 800 cycles at 25$\,^{\circ}\!$C and 45$\,^{\circ}\!$C, respectively. The progress also makes LIB a proper power supplier for space vehicles in astronautic explorations.
2023, Vol. 40 
