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Title: Lithium Ion Solvation and Diffusion in Bulk Organic Electrolytes from First-Principles and Classical Reactive Molecular Dynamics

Abstract

We report that lithium-ion battery performance is strongly influenced by the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte, which depends on the speed at which Li ions migrate across the cell and relates to their solvation structure. The choice of solvent can greatly impact both the solvation and diffusivity of Li ions. In this work, we used first-principles molecular dynamics to examine the solvation and diffusion of Li ions in the bulk organic solvents ethylene carbonate (EC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), and a mixture of EC and EMC. We found that Li ions are solvated by either carbonyl or ether oxygen atoms of the solvents and sometimes by the PF $$\bar{6}$$ anion. Li+ prefers a tetrahedrally coordinated first solvation shell regardless of which species are involved, with the specific preferred solvation structure dependent on the organic solvent. In addition, we calculated Li diffusion coefficients in each electrolyte, finding slightly larger diffusivities in the linear carbonate EMC compared to the cyclic carbonate EC. The magnitude of the diffusion coefficient correlates with the strength of Li+ solvation. Corresponding analysis for the PF $$\bar{6}$$ anion shows greater diffusivity associated with a weakly bound, poorly defined first solvation shell. In conclusion, these results can be used to aid in the design of new electrolytes to improve Li-ion battery performance.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [1];  [4]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Materials Science Division
  2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center for Applied Scientific Computing
  4. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Physics Division
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Fluid Interface Reactions, Structures and Transport Center (FIRST)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR)
OSTI Identifier:
1265428
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 119; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1520-6106
Publisher:
American Chemical Society
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
25 ENERGY STORAGE

Citation Formats

Ong, Mitchell T., Verners, Osvalds, Draeger, Erik W., van Duin, Adri C. T., Lordi, Vincenzo, and Pask, John E. Lithium Ion Solvation and Diffusion in Bulk Organic Electrolytes from First-Principles and Classical Reactive Molecular Dynamics. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1021/jp508184f.
Ong, Mitchell T., Verners, Osvalds, Draeger, Erik W., van Duin, Adri C. T., Lordi, Vincenzo, & Pask, John E. Lithium Ion Solvation and Diffusion in Bulk Organic Electrolytes from First-Principles and Classical Reactive Molecular Dynamics. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp508184f
Ong, Mitchell T., Verners, Osvalds, Draeger, Erik W., van Duin, Adri C. T., Lordi, Vincenzo, and Pask, John E. Fri . "Lithium Ion Solvation and Diffusion in Bulk Organic Electrolytes from First-Principles and Classical Reactive Molecular Dynamics". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp508184f. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1265428.
@article{osti_1265428,
title = {Lithium Ion Solvation and Diffusion in Bulk Organic Electrolytes from First-Principles and Classical Reactive Molecular Dynamics},
author = {Ong, Mitchell T. and Verners, Osvalds and Draeger, Erik W. and van Duin, Adri C. T. and Lordi, Vincenzo and Pask, John E.},
abstractNote = {We report that lithium-ion battery performance is strongly influenced by the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte, which depends on the speed at which Li ions migrate across the cell and relates to their solvation structure. The choice of solvent can greatly impact both the solvation and diffusivity of Li ions. In this work, we used first-principles molecular dynamics to examine the solvation and diffusion of Li ions in the bulk organic solvents ethylene carbonate (EC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), and a mixture of EC and EMC. We found that Li ions are solvated by either carbonyl or ether oxygen atoms of the solvents and sometimes by the PF $\bar{6}$ anion. Li+ prefers a tetrahedrally coordinated first solvation shell regardless of which species are involved, with the specific preferred solvation structure dependent on the organic solvent. In addition, we calculated Li diffusion coefficients in each electrolyte, finding slightly larger diffusivities in the linear carbonate EMC compared to the cyclic carbonate EC. The magnitude of the diffusion coefficient correlates with the strength of Li+ solvation. Corresponding analysis for the PF $\bar{6}$ anion shows greater diffusivity associated with a weakly bound, poorly defined first solvation shell. In conclusion, these results can be used to aid in the design of new electrolytes to improve Li-ion battery performance.},
doi = {10.1021/jp508184f},
journal = {Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry},
number = 4,
volume = 119,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Fri Dec 19 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}

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