Sulfolane Solvent Research Articles

Process-driven solvent screening for efficient extractive distillation using interpolative rational functions

When designing extractive distillation processes, using selectivity and capacity at infinite dilution alone is hard to identify the real optimal solvent with minimal process cost. To overcome this problem, a new process-driven solvent screening approach is developed. As simple and reliable surrogate models, rational functions (algebraic fractions such that the numerator and the denominator are polynomials) and multivariate polynomials (a subset of rational functions) are trained to interpolate vapor–liquid equilibria with thermodynamic consistency. The surrogate models can directly be embedded into superstructure-based extractive distillation process design to obtain optimal solutions within a few seconds. This enables to evaluate the real process performance of numerous solvents efficiently. Incorporating the accelerated process design strategy, a multi-level solvent screening framework is proposed and exemplified for the separation of a close-boiling mixture ethylbenzene/styrene. The solvent C2H2Br4 ultimately enables a cost reduction of 27.9 % compared to the industrially used benchmark solvent sulfolane.

Tetra-Peg Gels with Highly Concentrated Sulfolane-Based Electrolytes Exhibiting High Li-Ion Transference Numbers

To achieve high safety of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), non-flammable electrolytes and prevention of liquid electrolytes are desirable. Sulfolane (SL) is a thermally stable and non-flammable solvent, and can dissolve high concentration Li salts. Recently, highly concentrated electrolytes (HCEs) containing Li salts over 3 mol dm−3 have attracted much attention for their attractive properties such as high thermal stability and wide electrochemical windows. We previously reported that SL-based HCEs exhibit Liion hopping conduction mechanism.1,2 In SL-based HCEs, a unique solvation structure is formed in which different Li+ ions are cross-linked by the SL and anions. In the cross-linked structure, Li+ ions dynamically exchange the ligands (SL and anion) and diffuse/migrate faster than SL solvent and anion, leading to high transference numbers of Li+ ion (>0.5). The high transference number of Li+ is effective in suppressing the concentration polarization during high-rate charging and discharging of a LIB.Gelation of the HCEs can prevent the leakage of liquids and further improve the safety of LIBs. In the case of polymer gel electrolytes, liquid electrolytes are incorporated in the polymer network. Ionic conductivity of a gel electrolyte is generally lower than that of its parent liquid electrolyte. However, to prepare self-standing and mechanically robust gel electrolytes high polymer concentrations (typically over 20 wt%) are required. To achieve both high ionic conductivity and mechanical toughness of a gel electrolyte, the use of tetra-arm poly(ethylene glycol) (TPEG) has been proposed.3 TPEG gels obtained by the end-coupling reaction of two symmetrical TPEGs with different terminals exhibit excellent mechanical properties.4 TPEG forms a homogeneous polymer network, allowing the resulting gels to uniformly disperse external stresses. Consequently, TPEG gels possess excellent mechanical toughness even at low polymer concentrations (<10 wt%). In this work, we prepared self-standing TPEG gel membranes containing a high concentration LiN(SO2CF3)2/SL electrolyte.5 The mechanical, ion transport, and electrochemical properties of the gels were characterized. TPEG gels exhibited high transference numbers of Li+. The low polymer concentration and homogeneous polymer network in the gel electrolyte were useful in achieving both mechanical reliability and high Li+ transport ability. Li/LiCoO2 cell with a TPEG gel electrolyte membrane could discharge at a current density of 2.9 mA cm−2 despite the low ionic conductivity (0.26 mS cm−1) of the gel electrolyte. Acknowledgements : This study was partially supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (Grant No. JP19H05813, JP22H00340, and JP23K17370). References K. Dokko, et al, J. Phys. Chem. B, 2018, 122, 10736–10745.A. Nakanishi, et al., J. Phys. Chem. C, 2019, 123, 14229–14238.K. Fujii, et al., Soft Matter, 2012, 8, 1756–1759T. Sakai, et al., Macromolecules, 2008, 41, 5379–5384.N. Tasaki, et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 17793–17797

Stable room-temperature sodium-sulfur battery enabled by pre-sodium activated carbon cloth anode and nonflammable localized high-concentration electrolyte

Room-temperature (RT) sodium-sulfur (Na–S) battery is a promising energy storage technology with low-cost, high-energy-density and environmental-friendliness. However, the current RT Na–S battery suffers from various problems, such as poor cycling stability and poor electrolyte-electrode compatibility caused by polysulfide shuttling and active Na-metal anode. Here, a nonflammable localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE) (sodium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide salt, sulfolane solvent and 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl-2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl ether diluent in a molar ratio of 1:2:2), and a pre-sodium activated carbon cloth (NaACC) anode, are combined to enable stable and high-safety RT Na–S battery. In LHCE, the shuttle effect of polysulfide is greatly alleviated, a stable anions-derived NaF-rich cathode electrolyte interphase is formed, and a solid-solid conversion mechanism of a solid S8-solid Na2Sn (1 ≤ n ≤ 3) is achieved. Meanwhile, the Na dendrites and side reactions between electrolyte and anode are effectively inhibited by using NaACC anode. Therefore, under the synergistic effect of electrolyte regulation and negative electrode structure optimization, although using a low N/P ratio of 1.7, the RT Na–S battery also delivers a high initial capacity of 1220.8 mAh g−1, good rate capability and stable cycling performance with a high average Coulombic efficiency of 99.1 %. The capacity still remains at 704.5 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles. This innovative combination of LHCE and NaACC anode in Na–S batteries provides a new idea for further achieving stable RT Na–S batteries with long-cycle-life and high-safety.

Science‐guided data analytics for selecting ionic liquid solvents for aromatic extraction

AbstractIonic liquids (ILs) are promising solvents for the aromatic extraction process. An attractive characteristic is the existence of hundreds of ILs that exhibit different properties. To identify key properties of IL solvents for an energy‐optimum aromatic extraction, we use process simulation to generate the process datasets for multivariate data analytics with partial least squares, and use science‐guided fundamentals to develop an IL heat load variable (HLV). We consider 16 well‐studied ILs and correlate process steam duty and process variables affecting equipment size to the HLV for ethylene cracker feeds of low aromatic content. For such feeds in an IL aromatic extraction process, 11 of 16 ILs show energy advantage compared with sulfolane solvent with the lowest energy IL process requiring 57% of total energy required for an equivalent sulfolane process. Our results facilitate the IL solvent selection for pilot tests and subsequent commercialization of an IL aromatic extraction process.

Impact of solvent sulfolane in enhancing methanol selectivity during methane partial oxidation on Fe-ZSM5 catalyst with H2O2 as an oxidant

Sulfolane alters the mechanism and energetics of dissociation of H2O2, thereby controlling the active oxygen species in the Fe-ZSM-5 catalyst.

Computer-aided naphtha liquid–liquid extraction: Molecular reconstruction, sustainable solvent design and multiscale process optimization

A new integrated sustainable solvent and process design framework is proposed based on GDP (generalized disjunctive programming) to separate the naphthenic and aromatic components from naphtha. First, the detailed molecular composition information of naphtha is obtained using a molecular reconstruction model based on feasible bulk properties. Two group-based virtual molecules are then presented to express naphtha components for the liquid–liquid extraction process design. Second, four separation performance indicators and eight SHE (safety, health and environment) metrics are screened and described for the sustainable solvent design on the basis of the UNIFAC model and functional groups. The solvent structures are modelled through the improvement of the octet rule. Last, a conceptual liquid–liquid extraction process is proposed and expressed as a CAMPD (computer aided molecular and process design) optimization problem combining with the rigorous process mechanism model, sustainable solvent design model and molecular information model of naphtha. Especially, GDP is tailored to express the discrete choices in the simultaneous optimization design of solvents and processes and address the challenge of the large-scale framework solution. Compared with the process using the traditional solvent sulfolane, the content of the separated naphthenic and aromatic components is improved by 10.37%. At the same time, the sustainability is enhanced according to SHE assessment.

Enhancing the reversibility of Li deposition/dissolution in sulfur batteries using high-concentration electrolytes to develop anode-less batteries with lithium sulfide cathode

The reversibility of Li deposition/dissolution onto/from a copper substrate is analyzed herein for fabricating anodeless Li2S-cathode-based batteries using sulfolane (SL)-based sparingly solvating electrolytes to prevent lithium-polysulfide dissolution. The composition of electrolytes—binary lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)amide/lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide (LiTFSA/LiFSA; 9:1 molar ratio) in SL solvent—considerably affects the reversibility; a high-concentration electrolyte (HCE) and a localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE: HCE diluted by non-coordinating hydrofluoroether) exhibit superior reversibility than that of 1 M solution. Solid electrolyte interphases (SEI) with high F compositions and relatively low O concentrations are formed on the HCE- and LHCE-deposited Li surfaces. SEI formation via FSA decomposition is promoted in the HCE and LHCE, whereas SL decomposition is prohibited by the fluorine-rich SEI. The Li-deposit morphology is significantly affected by the nucleation overpotential at the initial deposition, which is influenced by the nature of the formed SEIs. Small-surface-area deposits with a low nucleation overpotential suppress the electrolyte decomposition and the formation of dead Li, resulting in high reversibility. Optimal reversibility is achieved by performing low-current-density initial deposition at 60 °C with the LHCE. The charge/discharge characteristics of anode-less Cu||Li2S batteries are determined under the reversibility-optimized conditions; 75 charge/discharge cycles and a 50-cycle capacity retention rate of 47.5% are achieved.

Difluoro(oxalato)borate's Role in the Intercalation Behavior of Mixed Anions from Sulfolane.

Some previous studies have found the synergistic effect of mixed anions in dual-ion batteries (DIBs). In this work, both lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4 ) and lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (LiDFOB) were dissolved in sulfolane (SL) solvent, and the resultant solutions were applied for DIBs. The storage behavior of mixed anions in natural graphite positive electrodes was investigated. In-situ X-ray diffraction measurements revealed both anions could participate in the formation of graphite intercalation compounds. Their evolution followed with the decreasing tendency of discharge capacities as the content of LiDFOB increased in solutions. The exchange of anions was discussed.

Development of energy‐optimum aromatic extraction processes using ionic liquid [EMIM][NTf2

AbstractThere is industrial incentive to extract aromatics from ethylene cracker feeds, but the conventional sulfolane solvent was found not economical by Meindersma and coworkers. Ionic liquids (ILs) have long been considered alternative aromatic extraction solvents. This work develops energy‐optimum aromatic extraction processes for an ethylene cracker feed using IL solvents. We avoid pitfalls of using simplified feeds and a priori thermodynamic property estimates, with the largest set of experimentally regressed UNIQUAC binary parameters for the IL, 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bis([trifluoromethyl]sulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][NTf2]). We screen process energy and operating conditions for [EMIM][NTf2] and sulfolane at varying aromatic feed contents and find [EMIM][NTf2] favorable at low aromatic feed contents. Adding light and heavy components of the ethylene cracker feed necessitates process modifications. Our novel steam‐assisted extractive distillation developed for [EMIM][NTf2] is also suitable for sulfolane. We show that the [EMIM][NTf2] solvent can reduce 10.7% of energy consumption compared to sulfolane using the same novel process.

Nonvolatile and Nonflammable Sulfolane-Based Electrolyte Achieving Effective and Safe Operation of the Li–O2 Battery in Open O2 Environment

The Li-O2 battery should operate effectively/safely in an open O2 environment for practical applications, but not trapped in sealed/closed atmosphere. However, the typical use of volatile and flammable electrolyte restricts Li-O2 battery to be able to be running in open O2 environment. We report herein, for the first time, a highly electrochemical reversible Li-O2 battery operated in an open O2 environment, i.e., under the condition of keeping O2 flowing continuously based on a nonvolatile and nonflammable sulfolane (TMS) solvent. The electrochemical irreversibility of Li2O2/O2 conversion and incompatibility between Li metal anodes and electrolyte have been addressed via dissolving LiNO3 in concentrated TMS electrolyte. The tuned electrolyte not only enables a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) with conformal inorganic components (including LiF, LiNxOy, and Li2O) that promotes a uniform Li electro-plating/stripping process but also results in a low charge overpotential, a stable discharge terminal plateau, and reversible O2 generation of the Li-O2 battery conducted in an open O2 environment.

Development of a Polarizable Force Field for Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Lithium-Ion Battery Electrolytes: Sulfone-Based Solvents and Lithium Salts.

A many-body polarizable force field (PFF) was developed for molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of sulfone-based solvents and lithium salts. Development of the polarizable force field included parameterization of atomic polarizabilities, electrostatic interactions, and van der Waals interactions of electrolyte components. 1λ6-thiolane-1,1-dione or sulfolane (SLF) compound was selected as one of the most appropriate solvents for high-voltage battery electrolytes. Atomic polarizabilities for the sulfolane solvent and lithium salts were obtained by means of a combination of quantum mechanics (QM) and molecular mechanics (MM) approaches using the isotropic atomic dipole polarizable (IADP) model. High-quality atomic polarizabilities were refined for 10 atomic types. Intermolecular interactions of Li+ ions with SLF were parameterized to reproduce the binding energies at the MP2/aug-cc-pvDZ level of theory in the gas phase. Intermolecular interactions of Li+ ions with polyatomic anions, such as nitrate [NO3]-, tetrafluoroborate [BF4]-, perchlorate [ClO4]-, hexafluorophosphate [PF6]-, bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide [FSI]-, and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [TFSI]-, were parameterized employing a similar methodology. A series of molecular dynamics simulations was performed for sulfolane-based electrolytes at several different lithium salt concentrations. Thermodynamic, structural, and transport properties were evaluated to validate the force field parameters against available simulation and experimental data. Transport properties of sulfolane were significantly improved as compared with those obtained from MD simulations using a nonpolarizable force field (NFF). A newly developed polarizable potential was shown to reproduce Li+ ion dynamics as a function of salt concentration. Faster diffusion of Li+ ions, among other electrolyte components, was obtained for high salt concentration electrolytes.

Evaluation of Physicochemical Properties and Battery Performancesfor PEO/SL-Based Na Conductive Solid Electrolyte

Introduction In recent years, power generations utilized renewable energy are attracted attention, and power resource is variegated for the realization of sustainable society. Among them, the amount of power generation as solar power generation and wind power generation is unstable due to weather and environmental factors. In order to popularize such renewable energy, it is considered required to have a power storage system for stores the generated power electricity. As one of the promising candidates for them, there is the lithium-ion battery which is widely utilized such as smartphones and laptop computers. However, this battery has the problem such as cost and resource due to utilizing rare material of lithium and is desired to instead another element to lithium. Sodium resources are inexhaustible and distributed everywhere, it has similar chemical properties due to same monovalent alkali metal like lithium. One of the sodium-based batteries is the sodium-sulfur (Na-S) battery, which operates at high temperatures and is primarily used for peak-shaving and load-leveling applications. In general, sodium-sulfur (Na-S) batteries use sodium and sulfur as negative and positive electrode active materials, respectively, and has possible to produced low-cost due to few resource restrictions of the main content materials. The β-alumina ceramics are used as an electrolyte and acts as the Na+-conduction membrane layer and the separator between two liquid state electrodes. Due to operating at high temperature, it utilizes the advantage of quit high ionic conductivity of electrolyte at high temperature and improves the interfacial formation of electrolyte/electrode by ensuring active materials are molten. However, β-alumina is easy to damage by various thermal and mechanical stresses and there are risks of the direct reaction of molten sodium and sulfur, and leak out of the module. Therefore, it is desired to develop low temperature operating Na-S battery, we focused on solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) having high flexibility for the realization of safety low temperature operating Na-S battery. SPE is expected to improve safety by decrease operating temperature, but it has the problem of low ionic conductivity at room temperature to compare liquid electrolytes, therefore we focused on gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) by added sulfolane (SL) solvent which high thermal stability. This study proposed sodium conductive new solid polymer electrolytes and evaluated their physicochemical properties and Na-S battery performance. Experimental Liquid electrolytes were prepared by mixing SL and NaTFSA using shading bottle in Ar-filled glove box. The molar ratio was changed to xSL:1NaTFSA (x=2,3,4,5 and 6, respectively). These liquid electrolytes and polyether-based macromonomer (P(EO)/(PO), polymer) were mixed with changing weight ratio as followed formula; y liquid electrolyte: (10-y) polymer (y=7 and 8). After added DMPA as photo-initiator, solid gel polymer electrolytes were fabricated by photo-polymerization by UV irradiation. Prepared samples were expressed as (xSL)yEl+(10-y)Po. Thermophysical properties of fabricated gel polymer electrolytes were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and differential scanning calorimeter analysis (DSC). In addition, ionic conductivities were measured by electrochemical impedance method. The reversibility of Na-S batteries was evaluated by charge and discharge measurements at 333 K. Result and discussion Proposed GPE has high flexibility at room temperature. Remarkable weight changes were not observed below 373 K, and it was expected to apply as the low-temperature operated Na-S battery. Fig.1 shows DSC curves of GPE. The glass tradition temperature (T g) increased with polymer composition, when the case of high composition SL, T g exhibited almost the same value as T g of the pure polymer without SL. It was suggested that the increase in free PEO chains owing most Na+ forms a solvate structure with SL. Fig.2 shows temperature dependence of ionic conductivities. Ionic conductivities increased with SL composition, it was suggested that improving ionic mobility due to decreasing microscopic viscosity according to adding SL. The highest ionic conductivity of 2.3 × 10-3 Scm-1 was observed when the highest electrolyte composition and SL composition were optimized. In this presentation, we will also report about electrochemical properties, such as transference number of Na+ and activation energy at Na/GPE interfaces, time dependences of interfacial stabilization at Na/GPE interface, and battery performance of [Na|GPE|SPAN] (Sodium-Sulfur) and [Na|GPE|NaCoO2] (Na-ion) cells. Figure 1

Modeling, simulation, and optimization for producing ultra-low sulfur and high-octane number gasoline by separation and conversion of fluid catalytic cracking naphtha

Contradiction between the desulfurization and loss of octane number (ON) for fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) naphtha is the long-term problem of clean gasoline production. Moreover, ON loss is substantially aggravated during deep hydrodesulfurization because of the global limited supply of sulfur for gasoline. This paper introduced a novel process for ultra-clean gasoline production that solves the above problem by using a unique separation approach. The components were separated by the coupling of distillation and solvent extraction, which the separation efficiency depends on the relationship between solvent and feedstock components. However, the compositions of FCC naphtha are complicated and always changing due to different processing technologies. Therefore, changes in the material composition must be considered during production. In this study, ternary liquid–liquid equilibrium (LLE) was explored to investigate the interaction of olefin, sulfide, and sulfolane solvent. A universal quasi-chemical functional group activity coefficient (UNIFAC) group contribution model was selected to predict the product composition when the FCC naphtha was treated by this process. The lack and necessity of group interaction parameters for the prediction were obtained through the regressive calculation of LLE results. A simulation method was established by Aspen Plus, and the reliability was well illustrated. Finally, the high olefin content of FCC naphtha critical components was analyzed by this simulation method. The sulfur and olefin levels of the product were 9.0 mg/kg and 18.6 wt%, respectively. The operation conditions simulated using the proposed technique met the requirements for the latest commercial gasoline worldwide.

Computer-Aided Ionic Liquid Design and Experimental Validation for Benzene–Cyclohexane Separation

For the purpose of designing ionic liquid (IL) solvents for the extractive separation of benzene/cyclohexane at 298.15 K, a computer-aided ionic liquid design (CAILD) method is developed. The UNIFAC-IL model is used to calculate the thermodynamic properties, while the group contribution (GC)-based methods are employed to estimate the physical properties and toxicity. A mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem is formulated, and the top five IL solvents are obtained by the BONMIN algorithm. One of the designed ILs [COC2MIM][Tf2N] (1-(2-methoxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide) is selected to perform the liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) experiment, and the distribution ratio and selectivity at 0.1 molar concentration of benzene in the raffinate phase are 1.20 and 17.10, respectively. The comparison with other solvents shows that the designed IL not only has an excellent separation performance but also favorable physical and environmental properties. After regressing the parameters for the NRTL model, the process simulation using the designed IL is developed by Aspen Plus, and the results are compared with that of the benchmark organic solvent sulfolane. The IL-based process needs 32475.1 kg/h of solvent and 1283 kW of heat duty, while the sulfolane-based process uses 43998.5 kg/h of solvent and 6296 kW of heat duty. These results demonstrating [COC2MIM][Tf2N] is a promising alternative to conventional solvents for the extractive separation of benzene/cyclohexane.

An overlooked issue for high-voltage Li-ion batteries: Suppressing the intercalation of anions into conductive carbon

Summary High-voltage Li-ion batteries have been extensively studied to increase energy density of batteries. However, their cycling stability has remained poor, despite various strategies being proposed to overcome the issues of high-potential cathodes, such as electrolyte oxidation and transition metal dissolution. Herein, we report anion intercalation into the cathode conductive carbon as an overlooked yet critical issue. We propose a concentrated sulfolane (SL)-based electrolyte that prevents anion intercalation via two mechanisms: (1) by offering a high activation barrier to intercalation via its strong anion-Li+ interaction and (2) by forming a sulfur-containing, anion-blocking SL-derived interphase. This electrolyte, used with graphitized acetylene black, which is oxidatively stable but usually susceptible to anion intercalation, enables the stable operation of a Li2CoPO4F/graphite full cell (cut-off voltage = 5.2 V), with 93% capacity retention after 1,000 cycles and an average Coulombic efficiency of ≥99.9%. This is a pivotal strategy to enhance the reversibility of >5 V Li-ion batteries on a commercial level.

“Greener” Synthesis of Zoledronic Acid from Imidazol-1-yl-acetic Acid and P-Reagents Using Diethyl Carbonate as the Solvent Component

The synthesis of a third generation dronic acid, zoledronic acid by the reaction of imidazol- 1-yl-acetic acid with phosphorus trichloride/phosphorous acid in diethyl carbonate (DEC) as a “green” solvent, and in DEC – methanesulfonic acid (MSA) solvent mixtures is described. The earlier not “green” and expensive MSA and sulfolane solvents may be replaced by DEC.

Liquid-liquid equilibrium for n-hexane + benzene + sulfolane, + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][NTf2]), + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate ([EMIM][EtSO4]) and + the mixtures of [EMIM][NTf2] and [EMIM][EtSO4

The liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data for three ternary mixtures of n-hexane + benzene + sulfolane, + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][NTf2]) and + 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate ([EMIM][EtSO4]) and two quaternary ones of n-hexane + benzene + mixed ionic liquids respectively with fixed molar ratio 9:1 and 1:9 of [EMIM][NTf2] to [EMIM][EtSO4] were determined experimentally at (303.15, 313.15 and 323.15) K and atmospheric pressure. The experimental results showed that the ionic liquid of [EMIM][NTf2] captures higher molar distribution coefficient while one of [EMIM][EtSO4] is characterized with higher molar selectivity, compared to the sulfolane solvent that is extensively used for aromatic extraction in industry. The improvement of the composite separation performance for n-hexane and benzene was observed through mixing the above two ionic liquids. To represent the experimental diagram, the activity coefficient model of Non-Random Two-Liquid (NRTL) was employed to correlate the experimental data and good agreements between theoretical and experimental results were obtained. In general, the selected ionic liquid and its mixture in this work could be considered as a potential substitute for sulfolane.

Organic Cathode Based on Quinone-Sulfide Polymer for Both Li and Mg Batteries

The undeniable benefit of lithium-ion (LIB) batteries for the development of a more environmentally friendly economy was recognized by the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. However, relying only on LIBs to energy storage will put considerable strain on lithium and cobalt resources used in these batteries. Therefore, alternative battery technologies other than LIBs are desirable to satisfy our growing demand for energy. Magnesium-ion batteries offer many distinct advantages over LIBs, including the high earth-abundance of magnesium, its high energy density and reversible dendrite-free Mg deposition1. In parallel, organic materials are receiving an increasing amount of attention as electrode materials for future post lithium-ion batteries due to their versatility and sustainability2. In order to propose organic cathode with both high potential and specific capacity, new polymer based on hydroquinone sulfide, poly(benzoquinone disulfide) (PBQDS), were prepared in view to be applied in both lithium and magnesium batteries. Diglyme and sulfolane solvents associated with both LiTFSI (lithium bistrifluomethane sulfonimide) and Mg(TFSI)2 salts were selected, as electrolytes, in order to evaluate the potentiality of the active material3. First of all, the electrochemical responses of PBQDS in lithium and magnesium based electrolytes was performed in a cavity micro-electrode. Whereas in both case the cyclic voltammetry exhibit a close to reversible redox stem (Fig. 1a), The electrochemical characteristics of the material are very similar in term of potential and ΔEpeak in both lithium and magnesium systems at a relative high scan rate i.e. 1 mV s-1. An improvement of the redox couple reversibility seems to be observed in Mg form, with a ΔEpeak= 400 mV at E° of 0.3 V vs Fc+/Fc (3.5 vs Li+/Li). Given this interesting behavior, PBQDS in a coin cell configuration using glyme + LiTFSI electrolyte, was analyzed. . A stable capacity of 160 mAh g-1 was obtained at C/10 after 70 cycles, whereas a value of 120 mAh g-1 was maintained at C rate (Fig. 1b). In order to improve, the electrochemical performances, especially at high C-rate, the impact of the particle sizes (controlled grinding) of the cathodic material is in progress in view to approach its theoretical capacity value. In addition, the electrochemical investigations in both Mg and Li based electrolytes will be presented in regard to the electrolyte nature and the PBQDS morphology. 1. H. D. Yoo, I. Shterenberg, Y. Gofer, G. Gershinsky, N. Pour, D. Aurbach, Energy Environ. Sci., 2013, 6, 2265–2279.2. P. Poizot, F. Dolhem, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 20033. H. Dong, Y. Liang, O. Tutusaus, R. Mohtadi, Y. Zhang, F. Hao, Y. Yao, Joule 2019, 3, 1–12 Figure 1

High Transference Number of Na Ion in Liquid-State Sulfolane Solvates of Sodium Bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide

The phase behavior, Na+ coordination structures, and transport and electrochemical properties of binary mixtures of NaN(SO2F)2 (NaFSA) and sulfolane (SL) solvent were investigated. The NaFSA and SL...

Synergistic effect of sulfolane and lithium Difluoro(oxalate)borate on improvement of compatibility for LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 electrode

High nickel LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA) cathode material has become one of the most promising cathode materials in the field of power batteries, but the side reaction between the conventional LiPF6-based electrolyte and the surface of the NCA material results in poor material interface stability. In this work, a compatible lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate (LiDFOB)-based electrolyte by the employment of sulfolane (SL) as a representative sulfur-containing solvent has been built to enhance the interfacial stability of NCA electrode. The composition, morphology and electrochemical properties are studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy et al. Results show that the decomposition of LiDFOB on the surface of the positive electrode material contributes to forming a uniform cathode electrolyte interface (CEI) film, which subsequently reduces the dissolution of metal ions and hinders the structure transition of the material from the layered structure to spinel or rock-salt phases. Besides, the sulfur-containing products resulted from the decomposition of SL promote the conductivity of Li+ ions for CEI film, which makes up for shortcomings of LiDFOB. Moreover, more LiF has been formed due to the synergistic action between LiDFOB salt and SL solvent, improving the stability and density of CEI film, reducing the thickness of CEI film, and further improving the cycle performance of the battery.