Electrolytes in Lithium-Ion Batteries: Advancements in the Era of Twenties (2020's)

Lithium-ion battery technology is viable due to its high energy density and cyclic abilities. Different electrolytes are used in lithium-ion batteries for enhancing their efficiency. These electrolytes have been divided into liquid, solid, and polymer electrolytes and explained on the basis of different solvent-electrolytes. Aqueous electrolytes are preferable due to their preference over organic electrolytes having properties like non-flammability, low cost, and safety. However, many other factors like pH, corrosion process, oxidation-reduction side reactions, and hydrogen gas evolution created limitations in their performance. Later, solid-state lithium-ion batteries are preferred over both aqueous lithium-ion batteries and organic-based lithium-ion batteries due to their outstanding electrochemical competencies. The electrochemical cycles of batteries can be increased by the creation of a solid electrolyte interface. Solid-state batteries exhibited considerable efficiency in the presence of composite polymer electrolytes with the advantage of suppressed dendrite growth. In advanced polymer-based solid-state lithium-ion batteries, gel polymer electrolytes have been used, which is a combination of both solid and polymeric electrolytes. The use of these electrolytes enhanced the battery performance and generated potential up to 5 V. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of synthesis aspects, chemistry, mode of installations, and application of electrolytes used for the production of lithium-ion batteries. This gives an insight into the previous materials used for electrolytes, their issues, and challenges, and also provide a concrete study about the future directions for use of electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries production.