Intramolecular Polarization‐Mediated Solvation and Interphase Engineering for Low‐Temperature High‐Voltage Lithium Metal Batteries
ABSTRACT Simultaneously achieving stable lithium metal batteries (LMBs) under cryogenic and high‐voltage conditions remains a fundamental challenge due to uncontrolled interfacial chemistry at lithium anodes and nickel‐rich cathodes. Here, we report an intramolecular polarization strategy that jointly regulates Li + solvation dynamics, solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation, and cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) stress dissipation. An intramolecularly polarized electrolyte featuring orthogonally arranged electron donor–acceptor moieties with a dipole moment (∼4.2 D) establishes a potential–dependent solvation screening effect, reducing Li + desolvation energy to 38.1 kJ mol −1 , while enabling anodic stability beyond 5.3 V. The tailored solvation chemistry induces spontaneous formation of dual–gradient interphases composed of a LiF–rich SEI and a boroxane–incorporated CEI with an interface modulus ∼20 nN. Consequently, Li||Li symmetric cells exhibit stable cycling over 16 000 h with a minimal polarization of 8.3 mV. Full cells employing LiNi 0.8 Co 0.1 Mn 0.1 O 2 cathodes retain 90% capacity after 1000 cycles at 4.5 V and maintain 80% at 4.9 V. 3 Ah pouch cells achieve a high energy density of 509 Wh kg −1 at 30°C with 96.8% capacity retention after 80 cycles, while delivering 439.1 Wh kg −1 at −30°C. This work establishes a molecular polarization paradigm for electrolyte and interphase engineering toward high–energy–density LMBs under extreme conditions.
Authors
- Ming Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1457-9469)
- Kai Jia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7498-3482)
- Weijiang Xue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3060-4580)
- Zhenjiang Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7153-4130)
- Kai Xi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0508-7910)
- Na Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9739-8964)
- Weiwei Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7329-4236)
- Shujiang Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5683-0973)
- Yujia He
- Zhengqian Jin
- R. Vasant Kumar
- Chunli Liu
- Wei Tang
- Pengfei Li
Institutions
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Energy Storage Systems (United States) (US)
- Xi'an Jiaotong University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2026-07-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.74260
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China