Binding of ether and carbonyl oxygens to lithium ion
- Physical Chemistry Dept., Warren, MI (United States)
The electrolyte for a lithium battery is a lithium salt (e.g. lithium Perchlorate) dissolved in an organic solvent or a mixture of organic solvents. The conductivity in these electrolytes is ionic and needs to be as high as possible to efficiently remove energy from the battery. The diffusion coefficient of the solvated ion in liquid electrolytes is inversely dependent on the radius of the salvation sphere. Consequently conductivity will increase with a decrease in the size of the salvation shell. The size of the salvation shell is determined by the size and coordination number of the solvent molecules. The types of organic solvents in electrolytes used in lithium battery applications are usually differentiated based on their perceived solvation properties. These solvents are often small, oxygen containing organic molecules which move with the Li{sup +} ions. This paper calculates the binding energies of some of these solvents to Li{sup +} using molecular quantum mechanics (MQM) techniques. The binding energies of the various solvents to Li{sup +} may determine which solvents will be preferentially bound to the ion. In liquid organic electrolytes, then, it will be the identity of the solvent and the coordination number which most affect the conductivity; the binding energies determine both of these properties. Carbonyl oxygens which occur in formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate have different Li{sup +} bonding properties than do the ether oxygens which occur in water, dimethyl ether and diethyl ether. Polymer solvents for the lithium salts such as the polyethers have chains which are too long to move with the binding energies then serve as the basis for a different Li{sup +} transport. Dimethyl ether and diethyl ether serve both as solvents and models for the polyethers.
- OSTI ID:
- 43047
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-931024--; ISBN 1-56677-033-5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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