Monitoring the Solid-Electrolyte Interphase Formation in Bis(fluorosulfonyl)Amide Ionic Liquid Electrolyte Using a Redox Probe Method

Abstract

The solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) has been considered to be formed on the negative electrode surface by reductive decomposition of electrolyte components. In the case of the electrolytes containing lithium ions, the SEI can be regarded as the Li+ conductor that enables the negative electrode reactions and prevents the further decomposition of the electrolytes. The structure of the SEI is often explained by the mosaic model, in which the SEI is a composite of several different inorganic and organic domains [1]. On the other hand, we have proposed the formation of the gelled SEI in bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (FSA–) ionic liquid electrolytes containing a high concentration of LiFSA [2,3]. Furthermore, we have reported that the SEI formation can be detected by monitoring the redox reaction of ferrocene (Fc) and ferrocenium (Fc+) [4,5]. In the present study, the time-dependent transition of the SEI formed on a Pt electrode was investigated by the redox probe method in BMPFSA (BMP+ = 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium) containing LiFSA.The formation of SEI by holding a Pt electrode at a negative potential was confirmed by a shift in the anodic peak potential of the cyclic voltammogram for Fc+/Fc couple in LiFSA/BMPFSA. The anodic peak disappeared when the electrode was held at the negative potential for a few hours, indicating the formation of a thick SEI. However, the anodic peak was observed again after keeping the electrode at the open circuit potential for a few hours, indicating the disappearance of the SEI. These results suggest that the SEI is formed by dissolution and/or dispersion of the decomposed products, which form at the electrode surface and diffuse into the electrolyte. Thus, the SEI formed at the potential is considered to exist as a metastable phase in the balance between the formation and diffusion of the decomposition products. This work was partly supported by GteX Program Japan Grant Number JPMJGX23S0.[1] E. Peled, D. Golodnitsky, and G. Ardel, J. Electrochem. Soc., 144, L208 (1997).[2] R. Furuya, T. Hara, T. Fukunaga, K. Kawakami, N. Serizawa, and Y. Katayama, J. Electrochem. Soc., 168, 100516 (2021).[3] N. Serizawa, R. Yamashita, and Y. Katayama, J. Phys. Chem. C, 127, 10434 (2023).[4] S. Kato, N. Serizawa, and Y. Katayama, J. Electrochem. Soc., 169, 076509 (2022).[5] S. Kato, N. Serizawa, and Y. Katayama, J. Electrochem. Soc., 170, 056504 (2023).