Push–Pull Electrolyte Design Strategy Enables High-Voltage Low-Temperature Lithium Metal Batteries

Lithium (Li) metal batteries hold significant promise in elevating energy density, yet their performance at ultralow temperatures remains constrained by sluggish charge transport kinetics and the formation of unstable interphases. In conventional electrolyte systems, lithium ions are tightly locked in the solvation structure, thereby engendering difficulty in the desolvation process and further exacerbating solvent decomposition. Herein, we propose a new push-pull electrolyte design strategy, utilizing molecular electrostatic potential (ESP) screening to identify 2,2-difluoroethyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (DTF) as an optimal cosolvent. Importantly, DTF exhibits a moderate ESP minimum (-21.0 kcal mol