Charge Transfer Reactions in Lithium-ion Batteries

Abstract

We have studied the charge transfer reactions at electrodeelectrolyte interfaces in lithium-ion batteries and found that there exist large activation barriers at the interface for lithium-ion to insert and extract at the electrodes. By the theoretical calculation, the activation barriers were found to be correlated with the interaction between lithium-ion and solvent in elec-trolyte, and therefore, the activation barriers are principally due to the de-solvation process of lithium-ion in the electrolyte. These results are also confirmed by the model interface consisted of electrolyteelectrolyte. Based on these results, we dis-cuss how the rate performance of lithium-ion batteries will be enhanced.