Oxygen Redox Reaction in Lithium-based Electrolytes: from Salt-in-Solvent to Solvent-in-Salt

Electrolytes are key components of Li/O2 batteries. The ionic liquid-like structure and good electrochemical and thermal stability of solvent-in-salt electrolytes make them of great interest for lithium batteries. Solutions of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl-ether with molar ratios ranging from 1:9 to 1:0.9 are here investigated. A voltammetric study of oxygen redox reaction in presence of different concentrations of salt, from salt-in-solvent to solvent-in-salt solutions, is reported here for the first time along with a novel luminescence method for the evaluation of O2 solubility. The results indicate that superconcentrated solutions favor the solution formation mechanism of Li2O2 during discharge which in turn is beneficial for battery cycling stability. Despite the higher viscosity of solvent-in-salt solutions than conventional electrolytes, O2 solubility is improved at the highest salt concentrations. These findings contribute to understand electrochemical processes in solvent-in-salt solutions for Li/O2 and next generation metal-based batteries.