Salty Electrolyte Prevents Battery Fires

Mar-05-15 In an effort to reduce battery fires, researchers have created a new lithium battery electrolyte that eliminates dendrites without interfering with the battery's efficiency and ability to carry a current.

The electrolyte, developed by a team from PNNL, was based on research that electrolytes containing a high level of salt also showed much less dendrite growth. With this in mind, the team used lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide salt mixed with the solvent dimethoxyethanein to create their electrolyte.

In tests with a small, quarter-sized cell, the anode of the test battery grew a thin layer of lithium nodules that did not extend into the electrolyte (in contrast to the fire-causing dendrites). The test battery also retained 98.4 percent of its charge after 1000 charge and discharge cycles and delivered four milliamps of electrical current per square centimeter.

Image: Scanning electron microscope images that show how normal electrolyte promotes dendrite growth (a, left), while PNNL’s new electrolyte produces smooth nodules that don’t short-circuit cells (b, right)

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