Lithium-ion batteries have become an irreplaceable part of daily life, yet state-of-art LIBs could not meet the growing demand of higher energy density partially due to limited choices for the cathode and the electrolyte that can provide the desired safety and reliability. One of the solutions is to move towards higher voltage systems. To rationalize the CEI design, on the electrolyte side, fundamental studies of electrochemical decomposition behavior at high voltage of common electrolytes, typically using carbonate-based organic solvent, remain incomplete despite experimental and computational efforts. Several decomposition products of EC were identified, mostly pointing at ring-opened linear molecules such as CO, CO2, glycolic acid and oxalic acid with the presence of active/singlet oxygen or PEO-like polymer owing to Lewis acid induced polymerization. However, in some cases there were no ring opening observed with EC forming vinylene carbonate (VC) or poly-EC instead. While the mechanism of ring-opening reactions that involve deprotonation, nucleophilic and/or electrophilic reactions are straightforward and widely reported, full reaction mechanisms pathways are not yet realized. In this study we combined experimental and computational NMR to track the dynamic evolution of intermediate species to discover their chemical nature by following their NMR fingerprints. The findings will be presented to provide a clearer picture of the effects of high voltage on electrolyte systems in general and their implications on overall battery chemistry.
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