Electrochemical reaction of lithium with CoCl2 in nonaqueous electrolyte

The electrochemical properties of cobalt chloride was investigated in 1 M LiPF6-ethylene carbonate (EC)/diethyl carbonate (DMC)/ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) (1:1:1 by volume) electrolyte within 3.0 V to 0 V. We for the first time found that CoCl2 material can electrochemically reversibly react with lithium via a conversion reaction, and delivers a reversible capacity of ca. 400 mA h g−1 at the 1 C rate at room temperature. This finding proves that conversion reactions in lithium-ion batteries can be expanded to transition-metal chlorides.