A.P. Zhang, Z.H. Bi, G.R. Wang, S.H. Liao, P. Das, H. Lin, M.R. Li, Yan Yu *, X.L. Feng *, X.H. Bao and Z.-S. Wu *

Energy & Environmental Science, 2024, Accepted.

The difficulty of achieving fast-charging high-voltage lithium-ion batteries arises from severely unstable electrolyte-electrolyte interfaces with sluggish kinetics. Here we overcome this challenge by developing a “cocktail electrolyte” enabling commercial LiCoO2 with ultra-stable fast-charging in a wide-temperature range. Unlike commercial carbonate electrolyte, our electrolyte synergistically contributes to fast ion transport and robust electrode/electrolyte interphases, which suppresses interfacial side reactions, accelerates interfacial reaction kinetics on cathode side, and prevents Li-dendrites on anodes even at extremely high-rates (3 C and 5 C). Consequently, Li||LiCoO2 coin cell displays ultra-high stability both at fast-charging rate (5 C, 73.2% retention after 1000 cycles) and extreme conditions (-20 and 45 °C), far beyond the state-of-the-art electrolytes. Moreover, we show the practical and general applicability of our electrolyte through the stable operation of graphite||LiCoO2 pouch cell (72.1% retention after 2000 cycles) and other advanced high-Ni or Co-free cathodes. This work proposes deep insights and practical strategy for high-energy-density and fast-charging batteries.