A Stable, Non-Corrosive Perfluorinated Pinacolatoborate Mg Electrolyte for Rechargeable Mg Batteries

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2019 May 20;58(21):6967-6971. doi: 10.1002/anie.201902009. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Abstract

Mg batteries are a promising energy storage system because of the physicochemical merits of Mg as an anode material. However, the lack of electrochemically and chemically stable Mg electrolytes impedes the development of Mg batteries. In this study, a newly designed chloride-free Mg perfluorinated pinacolatoborate, Mg[B(O2 C2 (CF3 )4 )2 ]2 (abbreviated as Mg-FPB), was synthesized by a convenient method from commercially available reagents and fully characterized. The Mg-FPB electrolyte delivered outstanding electrochemical performance, specifically, 95 % Coulombic efficiency and 197 mV overpotential, enabling reversible Mg deposition, and an anodic stability of up to 4.0 V vs. Mg. The Mg-FPB electrolyte was applied to assemble a high voltage, rechargeable Mg/MnO2 battery with a discharge capacity of 150 mAh g-1 .

Keywords: energy storage; magnesium batteries; magnesium electrolytes; perfluorinated pinacolatoborate.