Vinylene carbonate as a highly effective electrolyte additive for Li3VO4 anodes with enhanced electrochemical performance

Abstract

Solid electrolyte interphases (SEIs) formed on the surface of anode materials are of great importance for high rate and long-life cycling stability. To address this issue, electrolyte additives have been widely used in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) to modify the electrode–electrolyte interface properties. Herein, vinylene carbonate (VC) has been adopted as an effective additive to form a solid and stable SEI on Li₃VO₄ (LVO) anodes during cycling. We extensively investigated the fundamental characteristics of the constructed SEI layers and the related electrochemical reaction kinetics involved in the LIB environment. It was found that the introduction of VC into electrolytes could apparently enhance the rate capability and significantly improve the long-term cycling performance of Li₃VO₄ anodes. The obtained LVO in the electrolyte with the addition of VC exhibits a high reversible capacity of 810.4 mA h g⁻¹, high rate performance of 521.2 mA h g⁻¹ at 5.0 A g⁻¹ and excellent cycling stability with 82.9% capacity retention for 2000 cycles at 10.0 A g⁻¹. This work demonstrates that the formation of an appropriate SEI on the surface of LVO is necessary for the improvement of the electrochemical performance.