Electrolytes for metal-organic multivalent batteries

Rechargeable battery technologies based on the use of metal anodes coupled to organic cathodes and multivalent charge carrier ions (such as Mg2+, Ca2+ or Al3+) have the potential to deliver breakthroughs in energy density radically leap-frogging the current state-of-the-art Li-ion battery (LIB) technology. However, both the use of metal anodes and the migration of multivalent ions, within the electrolyte and the electrodes, are technological bottlenecks.

Here we research on novel electrolytes to enable more performant and more sustainable batteries. In more detail we will for each of the electrolyte systems determine: charge carriers and local structure as a function of composition, time/length-scales relevant for ion transport and charge transfer, half-cell performance vs. metal anodes. This will finally lead to both an overarching description of how the electrolytes behave as function of cation and recommendations for further electrolyte concept developments for Mg, Ca and Al.