Abstract
Multivalent battery concepts based on magnesium or calcium metal anodes have the potential to provide higher energy density than traditional lithium ion batteries. However, current multivalent electrolytes possess less than optimal compatibility with these reactive metals and with desirable high voltage cathode materials. Understanding the origin of these issues requires an understanding of multivalent cation coordination environments in both the bulk and at the relevant interfaces. In this presentation, elucidation of the relative coordination strengths of "state-of-the-art" multivalent battery salts and solvents will be described. Moreover, the impact of these competitive coordination tendencies on metal deposition efficiency will be discussed along with the efficacy of tuning such interactions to improve magnesium and calcium electrolyte performance.
This work was supported by the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, an Energy Innovation Hub funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.