Multifunctional Electrolyte Additive Stabilizes Electrode–Electrolyte Interface Layers for High-Voltage Lithium Metal Batteries

A lithium metal anode and high nickel ternary cathode are considered viable candidates for high energy density lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, unstable electrode–electrolyte interfaces and structure degradation of high nickel ternary cathode materials lead to serious capacity decay, consequently hindering their practical applications in LMBs. Herein, we introduced N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl) trifluoro acetamide (BTA) as a multifunctional additive for removing trace water and hydrofluoric acid (HF) from the electrolyte and inhibiting corrosive HF from disrupting the electrode–electrolyte interface layers. Furthermore, the BTA additive containing multiple functional groups (C–F, Si–O, Si–N, and C═N) promotes the formation of LiF-rich, Si- and N-containing solid electrolyte interfacial films on a lithium metal anode and LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) cathode surfaces, thereby improving the electrode–electrolytes interfacial stability and mitigating the capacity decay caused by structural degradation of the layered cathode. Using the BTA additive had tremendous benefits through modification of both anode and cathode surface layers. This was demonstrated using a Li||NMC811 metal battery with the BTA electrolyte, which exhibits remarkable cycling and rate performances (122.9 mA h g–1 at 10 C) and delivers a discharge capacity of 162 mA h g–1 after 100 cycles at 45 °C. Likewise, this study establishes a cost-effective approach of using a single additive to improve the electrochemical performance of LMBs.