High-voltage LiNi0.8 Co0.1 Mn0.1 O2 (NCM811)-based Li-ion batteries (LIBs) with enhanced performance can be achieved by properly tailoring the electrolyte systems. Benzoic anhydride (BA) was proposed here as a promising bifunctional electrolyte additive that can not only construct a robust cathode-electrolyte interface (CEI) film on the electrode surface but also capture HF/H2 O in the electrolyte effectively. Compared to the cell without the BA additive, the capacity of Li/NCM811 half-cell with 1.0 wt % BA was increased from 128.5 to 149.6 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles at 1 C between 3.0 and 4.3 V. Even at a higher cut-off voltage of 4.5 V, the BA-containing Li/NCM811 half-cell delivered a capacity retention of 69 % after 200 cycles, much higher than that of the half-cell without the additive (56 %). Both theoretical calculation and experimental results verified that the BA additive could be preferentially oxidized to form a stable interface film with high conductivity that protected the NCM811 cathode and suppressed the decomposition of the electrolyte.
Keywords: benzoic anhydride; electrolyte additive; hydrolysis; lithium-ion batteries; surface analysis.
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