The Impact of Fluoroethylene Carbonate Additive on Charged Sodium Ion Electrodes/Electrolyte Reactivity Studied Using Accelerating Rate Calorimetry

Abstract

The effects of fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) electrolyte additive on charged sodium ion electrode/electrolyte reactivity at elevated temperatures were investigated using accelerating rate calorimetry (ARC). The beneficial effect of FEC on cell lifetime was demonstrated using Na0.97Ca0.03[Mn0.39Fe0.31Ni0.22Zn0.08]O2 (NCMFNZO)/hard carbon (HC) pouch cells first prior to ARC measurements. Electrodes from these pouch cells were utilized as sample materials and 1.0 M NaPF6 in propylene carbonate (PC):ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) (1:1 by vol.) was chosen as control electrolyte. Adding 2 wt% and 5 wt% FEC to the electrolyte does not significantly affect the reactivity of de-sodiated NCMFNZO compared to the control electrolyte. However, the addition of FEC obviously changed the reactivity between sodiated HC and electrolytes, especially by showing a suppression on the exothermal behavior between 160 °C and 230 °C. These results give a head to head comparison of the reactivity of FEC additive containing electrolytes with charged sodium ion electrode materials at elevated temperatures and show that the use of FEC at additive levels should not compromise the cell safety when extending cell lifetime.