Recent advances toward high voltage, EC-free electrolytes for graphite-based Li-ion battery

Lithium-ion batteries are a key technology in today’s world and improving their performances requires, in many cases, the use of cathodes operating above the anodic stability of state-of-the-art electrolytes based on ethylene carbonate (EC) mixtures. EC, however, is a crucial component of electrolytes, due to its excellent ability to allow graphite anode operation—also required for high energy density batteries—by stabilizing the electrode/electrolyte interface. In the last years, many alternative electrolytes, aiming at allowing high voltage battery operation, have been proposed. However, often, graphite electrode operation is not well demonstrated in these electrolytes. Thus, we review here the high voltage, EC-free alternative electrolytes, focusing on those allowing the steady operation of graphite anodes. This review covers electrolyte compositions, with the widespread use of additives, the change in main lithium salt, the effect of anion (or Li salt) concentration, but also reports on graphite protection strategies, by coatings or artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) or by use of water-soluble binder for electrode processing as these can also enable the use of graphite in electrolytes with suboptimal intrinsic SEI formation ability.