1,3-Dioxolane: a Strategy to Improve Electrode Interfaces in Lithium-Ion and Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Batteries with increased specific energy will play a crucial role in future use of electrical energy. Indeed, high specific energy means increased driving ranges in electric vehicles and can also improve the efficient use of the renewable energy. Lithium batteries, including lithium ion batteries (LIBs), with high specific energy can be achieved with the use of high potential and/or high specific capacity cathodes. We exploit the ability of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) to polymerize at voltage higher than 4 V to in-situ produce a protective polymer layer on two different cathodes. Specifically, DOL was polymerized on high-voltage LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) and on high-capacity sulfur in order to reduce the electrode/electrolyte interface reactivity of these cathode materials and to improve cycling performance.