Improving the cyclability performance of lithium-ion batteries by introducing lithium difluorophosphate (LiPO₂F₂) additive

The cyclability of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is often affected by the components of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer which is generated from electrochemical decomposition of electrolyte. Here, lithium difluorophosphate (LiPO₂F₂) is studied in this work. When 1.6 wt% LiPO₂F₂ additive is incorporated into the reference electrolyte, the capacity retention of graphite/Li half-cell is increased from 82.53% to 98.04% and the capacity retention of LiCoO₂/Li half-cell is increased from 89.60% to 97.53% after 160 cycles. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) indicates that the SEI layer containing LiPO₂F₂ can decrease the surface impedance of cells in the last stage cycle. In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM), DFT calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that LiPO₂F₂ is deposited on the surface of both LiCoO₂ and graphite electrodes, which effectively protects the graphite anode and suppresses the degradation of the cathode during the long-term cycling of LIBs.