David K. Jamison

Phosphazene Based Additives for Improvement of Safety and Battery Lifetimes in Lithium-Ion Batteries

There need to be significant improvements made in lithium-ion battery technology, principally in the areas of safety and useful lifetimes to truly enable widespread adoption of large format batteries for the electrification of the light transportation fleet. In order to effect the transition to lithium ion technology in a timely fashion, one promising next step is through improvements to the electrolyte in the form of novel additives that simultaneously improve safety and useful lifetimes without impairing performance characteristics over wide temperature and cycle duty ranges. Recent efforts in our laboratory have been focused on the development of such additives with all the requisite properties enumerated above. We present the results of the study of novel phosphazene based electrolytes additives.

Section IV.D.3 for DOE 2013 Annual Report: Novel Phosphazene-based Compounds to Enhance Safety and Stability of Cell Chemistries for High Voltage Applications (INL)

Electrolytes play a central role in performance and aging in most electrochemical systems. As automotive and grid applications place a higher reliance on electrochemical stored energy, it becomes more urgent to have electrolyte components that enable optimal battery performance while promoting battery safety and longevity. Safety remains a foremost concern for widespread utilization of Li-ion technology in electric-drive vehicles, especially as the focus turns to higher voltage systems (5V). This work capitalizes on the long established INL expertise regarding phosphazene chemistry, aimed at battery-viable compounds for electrolytes and electrodes that are highly tolerant to abusive conditions. This report showcases our 2013 work for the DOE applied battery research (ABR) program, wherein testing results are summarized for INL electrolytes and alternative anode materials.