Preferential Adsorption of Solvents on the Cathode Surface of Lithium Ion Batteries

The adsorption structures of solvents on the surface of LiCoO2, which is the most widely used cathode material for Li-ion batteries, in contact with nonaqueous electrolyte solutions of carbonate esters have been characterized by in situ sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. The cyclic carbonate of ethylene carbonate (EC) is preferentially adsorbed on the LiCoO2 surface, in contrast to linear carbonates, such as dimethyl carbonate (DMC).