Transforming a Primary Li-SOCl2 Battery into a High-Power Rechargeable System via Molecular Catalysis

Guodong Chen; Wenda Li; Xiaofan Du; Chen Wang; Xuelian Qu; Xiangyu Gao; Shanmu Dong; Guanglei Cui; Liquan Chen

doi:10.1021/jacs.3c07927

Transforming a Primary Li-SOCl₂ Battery into a High-Power Rechargeable System via Molecular Catalysis

J Am Chem Soc. 2023 Oct 11;145(40):22158-22167. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c07927. Epub 2023 Oct 2.

Authors

Guodong Chen^{1

2

3

4}, Wenda Li^{1

2

3}, Xiaofan Du^{1

2

3}, Chen Wang^{1

2

3

4}, Xuelian Qu^{1

2

3

4}, Xiangyu Gao^{1

2

3

4}, Shanmu Dong^{1

2

3

4}, Guanglei Cui^{1

2

3

4}, Liquan Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Qingdao Industrial Energy Storage Research Institute, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China.
² Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China.
³ Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao 266101, China.
⁴ Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁵ Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.

PMID: 37779473
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c07927

Abstract

Li-SOCl₂ batteries possess ultrahigh energy densities and superior safety features at a wide range of operating temperatures. However, the Li-SOCl₂ battery system suffers from poor reversibility due to the sluggish kinetics of SOCl₂ reduction during discharging and the oxidation of the insulating discharge products during charging. To achieve a high-power rechargeable Li-SOCl₂ battery, herein we introduce the molecular catalyst I₂ into the electrolyte to tailor the charging and discharging reaction pathways. The as-assembled rechargeable cell exhibits superior power density, sustaining an ultrahigh current density of 100 mA cm^-2 during discharging and delivering a reversible capacity of 1 mAh cm^-2 for 200 cycles at a current density of 2 mA cm^-2 and 6 mAh cm^-2 for 50 cycles at a current density of 5 mA cm^-2. Our results reveal the molecular catalyst-mediated reaction mechanisms that fundamentally alter the rate-determining steps of discharging and charging in Li-SOCl₂ batteries and highlight the viability of transforming a primary high-energy battery into a high-power rechargeable system, which has great potential to meet the ever-increasing demand of energy-storage systems.