Use of natural binders and ionic liquid electrolytes for greener and safer lithium-ion batteries

Abstract This manuscript reports on the development of a safe and green lithium-ion battery containing sodium salt of CarboxyMethylCellulose (CMC) as binder, lithium titanate (Li4Ti5O12) as anodic active material, lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) as cathodic active material and an electrolytic solution based on the ionic liquid N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (PYR14FSI). The battery showed, at room temperature, a very stable specific capacity of 140 mAh g−1 constant for more than 150 cycles. This indicated that the introduction of low cost and environmentally benign binders, like CMC, and non-flammable electrolytes, such as PYR14FSI, represents a viable strategy for the development of new, greener and safer lithium-ion batteries.