Apples to Apples: Shift from Mass Ratio to Additive Molecules per Electrode Area to Optimize Li-Ion Batteries

Electrolyte additives in liquid electrolyte batteries can trigger the formation of a protective interphase (SEI) atthe electrodes that aims to suppress side reactions at the electrodes. Studies of varying amounts of additives have been done over the last years, providing a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the electrolyte formulation on the lifetime of the cells. However, these studies mostly focus on the variation of the mass fraction of additive in the electrolyte while disregarding the ratio (radd) of the additive's amount of substance (nadd) to the electrode area (Aelectrode). Herein we utilize our extremely accurate automatic battery assembly system (AUTOBASS) to vary electrode area and amount of substance of the additive. The data provides strong evidence that reporting the mass ratios of electrolyte components is insufficient and the mol of additive relative to the electrodes’ area should be reported. Herein, the two most utilized additives, namely fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) and vinylene carbonate (VC) were studied. Each additive was varied from 0.1 wt.-% - 3.0 wt.-% for VC, and 5 wt.-% - 15 wt.-% for FEC for two mass loadings of 1 mAh/cm2 and 3 mAh/cm2. To engage the community to find better descriptors, such as the proposed radd, we publish the dataset alongside this manuscript.