Reviewing electrochemical stability of ionic liquids-/deep eutectic solvents-based electrolytes in lithium-ion,lithium-metal and post-lithium-ion batteries for green and safe energy

Sustainable energy is the key issue for the environment protection,human activity and economic development.Ionic liquids(ILs)and deep eutectic solvents(DESs)are dogmatically regarded as green and sustainable electrolytes in lithium-ion,lithium-metal(e.g.,lithium-sulphur,lithium-oxygen)and post-lithium-ion(e.g.,sodium-ion,magnesium-ion,and aluminum-ion)batteries.High electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs is one of the prerequisites for green,sustainable and safe energy;while easy electrochemical decomposition of ILs/DESs would be contradictory to the concept of green chemistry by adding the cost,releasing volatile/hazardous by-products and hindering the recyclability.However,(1)are ILs/DESs-based electrolytes really electrochemically stable when they are not used in batteries?(2)are ILs/DESs-based electrolytes really electrochemically stable in real batteries?(3)how to design ILs/DESs-based electrolytes with high electrochemical stability for batteries to achieve sustainability and green development?Up to now,there is no summary on this topic,to the best of our knowledge.Here,we review the effect of chemical structure and non-structural factors on the electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs in simulated conditions.More importantly,electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs in real lithium-ion,lithium-metal and post-lithium-ion batteries is concluded and compared.Finally,the strategies to improve the electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs in lithium-ion,lithium-metal and post-lithium-ion batteries are proposed.This review would provide a guide to design ILs/DESs with high electrochemical stability for lithium-ion,lithium-metal and postlithium-ion batteries to achieve sustainable and green energy.

Theoretical analysis of hydrogen solubility in direct coal liquefaction solvents

The cyclic hydrogenation technology in a direct coal liquefaction process relies on the dissolved hydrogen of the solvent or oil participating in the hydrogenation reaction.Thus,a theoretical basis for process optimization and reactor design can be established by analyzing the solubility of hydrogen in liquefaction solvents.Experimental studies of hydrogen solubility in liquefaction solvents are challenging due to harsh reaction conditions and complex solvent compositions.In this study,the composition and content of liquefied solvents were analyzed.As model compounds,hexadecane,toluene,naphthalene,tetrahydronaphthalene,and phenanthrene were chosen to represent the liquefied solvents in chain alkanes and monocyclic,bicyclic,and tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.The solubility of hydrogen X(mol/mol)in pure solvent components and mixed solvents(alkanes and aromatics mixed in proportion to the chain alkanes+bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,bicyclic saturated aromatic hydrocarbons+bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,and bicyclic aromatic hydrocarbons+compounds containing het-eroatoms composed of mixed components)are determined using Aspen simulation at temperature and pressure conditions of 373–523 K and 2–10 MPa.The results demonstrated that at high temperatures and pressures,the solubility of hydrogen in the solvent increases with the increase in temperature and pressure,with the pressure having a greater impact.Further-more,the results revealed that hydrogen is more soluble in straight-chain alkanes than in other solvents,and the solubility of eicosanoids reaches a maximum of 0.296.The hydrogen solubility in aromatic ring compounds decreased gradually with an increase in the aromatic ring number.The influence of chain alkanes on the solubility of hydrogen predominates in a mixture of solvents with different mixing ratios of chain alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons.The solubility of hydrogen in mixed aromatic solvents is less than that in the corresponding single solvents.Hydrogen is less soluble in solvent compounds containing heteroatoms than in compounds without heteroatoms.

Experimental investigation on coal pore-fracture variation and fractal characteristics synergistically affected by solvents for improving clean gas extraction

Chemical solvents instead of pure water being as hydraulic fracturing fluid could effectively increase permeability and improve clean methane extraction efficiency.However,pore-fracture variation features of lean coal synergistically affected by solvents have not been fully understood.Ultrasonic testing,nuclear magnetic resonance analysis,liquid phase mass spectrometry was adopted to comprehensively analyze pore-fracture change characteristics of lean coal treated by combined solvent(NMP and CS_(2)).Meanwhile,quantitative characterization of above changing properties was conducted using geometric fractal theory.Relationship model between permeability,fractal dimension and porosity were established.Results indicate that the end face fractures of coal are well developed after CS2and combined solvent treatments,of which,end face box-counting fractal dimensions range from 1.1227 to 1.4767.Maximum decreases in ultrasonic longitudinal wave velocity of coal affected by NMP,CS_(2)and combined solvent are 2.700%,20.521%,22.454%,respectively.Solvent treatments could lead to increasing amount of both mesopores and macropores.Decrease ratio of fractal dimension Dsis 0.259%–2.159%,while permeability increases ratio of NMR ranges from 0.1904 to 6.4486.Meanwhile,combined solvent could dissolve coal polar and non-polar small molecules and expand flow space.Results could provide reference for solvent selection and parameter optimization of permeability-enhancement technology.

Alcohol solvent effect on the self-assembly behaviors of lignin oligomers

The interactions between lignin oligomers and solvents determine the behaviors of lignin oligomers self-assembling into uniform lignin nanoparticles(LNPs).Herein,several alcohol solvents,which readily interact with the lignin oligomers,were adopted to study their effects during solvent shifting process for LNPs’production.The lignin oligomers with widely distributed molecular weight and abundant guaiacyl units were extracted from wood waste(mainly consists of pine wood),exerting outstanding self-assembly capability.Uniform and spherical LNPs were generated in H_(2)O-n-propanol cosolvent,whereas irregular LNPs were obtained in H_(2)O-methanol cosolvent.The unsatisfactory self-assembly performance of the lignin oligomers in H_(2)O-methanol cosolvent could be attributed to two aspects.On one hand,for the initial dissolution state,the distinguishing Hansen solubility parameter and polarity between methanol solvent and lignin oligomers resulted in the poor dispersion of the lignin oligomers.On the other hand,strong hydrogen bonds between methanol solvent and lignin oligomers during solvent shifting process,hindered the interactions among the lignin oligomers for self-assembly.

Solvent transport dynamics and its effect on evolution of mechanical properties of nitrocellulose(NC)-based propellants under hot-air drying process

Appropriate drying process with optimized controlling of drying parameters plays a vital role in the improvement of the quality and performance of propellant products.However,few research on solvent transport dynamics within NC-based propellants was reported,and its effect on the evolution of mechanical properties was not interpreted yet.This study is conducted to gain a comprehensive understanding of hot-air drying for NC-based propellants and clarify the effect of temperature on solvent transport behavior and further the change of mechanical properties during drying.The drying kinetic curves show the drying time required is decreased but the steady solvent content is increased and the drying rate is obviously increased with the increase of hot-air temperatures,indicating hot-air temperatures have a significant effect on drying kinetics.A modified drying model was established,and results show it is more appropriate to describe solvent transport behavior within NC-based propellants.Moreover,two linear equations were established to exhibit the relationship between solvent content and its effect on the change of tensile properties,and the decrease of residual solvent content causes an obvious increase of tensile strength and tensile modulus of propellant products,indicating its mechanical properties can be partly improved by adjustment of residual solvent content.The outcomes can be used to clarify solvent transport mechanisms and optimize drying process parameters of double-based gun propellants.

The prediction of donor number and acceptor number of electrolyte solvent molecules based on machine learning

Electrolyte solvents have a critical impact on the design of high performance and safe batteries.Gutmann's donor number(DN) and acceptor number(AN) values are two important parameters to screen and design superior electrolyte solvents. However, it is more time-consuming and expensive to obtain DN and AN values through experimental measurements. Therefore, it is essential to develop a method to predict DN and AN values. This paper presented the prediction models for DN and AN based on molecular structure descriptors of solvents, using four machine learning algorithms such as Cat Boost(Categorical Boosting), GBRT(Gradient Boosting Regression Tree), RF(Random Forest) and RR(Ridge Regression).The results showed that the DN and AN prediction models based on Cat Boost algorithm possesses satisfactory prediction ability, with R^(2) values of the testing set are 0.860 and 0.96. Moreover, the study analyzed the molecular structure parameters that impact DN and AN. The results indicated that TDB02m(3D Topological distance based descriptors-lag 2 weighted by mass) had a significant effect on DN, while HATS1s(leverage-weighted autocorrelation of lag 1/weighted by I-state) plays an important role in AN. The work provided an efficient approach for accurately predicting DN and AN values, which is useful for screening and designing electrolyte solvents.

Simultaneous purification of minor components in natural products using twin-column recycling chromatography with a step solvent gradient

The isolation of minor components from complex natural product matrices presents a significant challenge in the field of purification science due to their low concentrations and the presence of structurally similar compounds.This study introduces an optimized twin-column recycling chromatography method for the efficient and simultaneous purification of these elusive constituents.By introducing water at a small flowing rate between the twin columns,a step solvent gradient is created,by which the leading edge of concentration band would migrate at a slower rate than the trailing edge as it flowing from the upstream to downstream column.Hence,the band broadening is counterbalanced,resulting in an enrichment effect for those minor components in separation process.Herein,two target substances,which showed similar peak position in high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)and did not exceed 1.8%in crude paclitaxel were selected as target compounds for separation.By using the twin-column recycling chromatography with a step solvent gradient,a successful purification was achieved in getting the two with the purity almost 100%.We suggest this method is suitable for the separation of most components in natural produces,which shows higher precision and recovery rate compared with the common lab-operated separation ways for natural products(thin-layer chromatography and prep-HPLC).

Study on the green extraction of corncob xylan by deep eutectic solvent

Corn as one of the world's major food crops,its by-product corn cob is also rich in resources.However,the unreasonable utilization of corn cob often causes the environmental pollution,waste of resources and other problems.As one of the most abundant polymers in nature,xylan is widely used in food,medicine,materials and other fields.Corn cob is rich in xylan,which is an ideal raw material for extracting xylan.However,the intractable lignin is covalently linked to xylan,which increases the difficulty of xylan extraction.It has been reported that the deep eutectic solvent(DES)could preferentially dissolve lignin in biomass,thereby dissolving the xylan.Then,the xylan in the extract was separated by ethanol precipitation method.The xylan precipitate was obtained after centrifugation,while the supernatant was retained.The components of the supernatant after ethanol precipitation were separated by the rotary evaporator.The ethanol,water and DES were collected for the subsequent extraction of corn cob xylan.In this study,a novel way was provided for the green production of corn cob xylan.The DES was used to extract xylan from corn cob which was used as the raw material.The effects of solid-liquid ratio,reaction time,reaction temperature and water content of DES on the extraction rate of corn cob xylan were investigated by the single factor test.Furthermore,the orthogonal test was designed to optimize the xylan extraction process.The structure of corn cob xylan was analyzed and verified.The results showed that the optimum extraction conditions of corn cob xylan were as follows:the ratio of corn cob to DES was 1:15(g:mL),the extraction time was 3 h,the extraction temperature was 60℃,and the water content of DES was 70%.Under these conditions,the extraction rate of xylan was 16.46%.The extracted corn cob xylan was distinctive triple helix of polysaccharide,which was similar to the structure of commercially available xylan.Xylan was effectively and workably extracted from corn cob by the DES method.This study provided a new approach for high value conversion of corn cob and the clean production of xylan.

Insight into the experiment and extraction mechanism for separating carbazole from anthracene oil with quaternary ammonium-based deep eutectic solvents

Carbazole is an irreplaceable basic organic chemical raw material and intermediate in industry.The separation of carbazole from anthracene oil by environmental benign solvents is important but still a challenge in chemical engineering.Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as a sustainable green separation solvent have been proposed for the separation of carbazole from model anthracene oil.In this research,three quaternary ammonium-based DESs were prepared using ethylene glycol (EG) as hydrogen bond donor and tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC),tetrabutylammonium bromide or choline chloride as hydrogen bond acceptors.To explore their extraction performance of carbazole,the conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) model was used to predict the activity coefficient at infinite dilution (γ^(∞)) of carbazole in DESs,and the result indicated TBAC:EG (1:2) had the stronger extraction ability for carbazole due to the higher capacity at infinite dilution (C^(∞)) value.Then,the separation performance of these three DESs was evaluated by experiments,and the experimental results were in good agreement with the COSMO-RS prediction results.The TBAC:EG (1:2) was determined as the most promising solvent.Additionally,the extraction conditions of TBAC:EG (1:2) were optimized,and the extraction efficiency,distribution coefficient and selectivity of carbazole could reach up to 85.74%,30.18 and 66.10%,respectively.Moreover,the TBAC:EG (1:2) could be recycled by using environmentally friendly water as antisolvent.In addition,the separation performance of TBAC:EG (1:2) was also evaluated by real crude anthracene,the carbazole was obtained with purity and yield of 85.32%,60.27%,respectively.Lastly,the extraction mechanism was elucidated byσ-profiles and interaction energy analysis.Theoretical calculation results showed that the main driving force for the extraction process was the hydrogen bonding ((N–H...Cl) and van der Waals interactions (C–H...O and C–H...π),which corresponding to the blue and green isosurfaces in IGMH analysis.This work presented a novel method for separating carbazole from crude anthracene oil,and will provide an important reference for the separation of other high value-added products from coal tar.

Enhancing lead-free photovoltaic performance:Minimizing buried surface voids in tin perovskite films through weakly polar solvent pre-treatment strategy

Buried interfacial voids have always been a notorious phenomenon observed in the fabrication of lead perovskite films. The existence of interfacial voids at the buried interface will capture the carrier, suppress carrier transport efficiencies, and affect the stability of photovoltaic devices. However, the impact of these buried interfacial voids on tin perovskites, a promising avenue for advancing lead-free photovoltaics, has been largely overlooked. Here, we utilize an innovative weakly polar solvent pretreatment strategy(WPSPS) to mitigate buried interfacial voids of tin perovskites. Our investigation reveals the presence of numerous voids in tin perovskites during annealing, attributed to trapped dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO) used in film formation. The WPSPS method facilitates accelerated DMSO evaporation, effectively reducing residual DMSO. Interestingly, the WPSPS shifts the energy level of PEDOT:PSS downward, making it more aligned with the perovskite. This alignment enhances the efficiency of charge carrier transport. As the result, tin perovskite film quality is significantly improved,achieving a maximum power conversion efficiency approaching 12% with only an 8.3% efficiency loss after 1700 h of stability tests, which compares well with the state-of-the-art stability of tin-based perovskite solar cells.

Solvent effects on Diels-Alder reaction in ionic liquids:A reaction density functional study

Extensive experimental studies have been performed on the Diels-Alder(DA)reactions in ionic liquids(ILs),which demonstrate that the IL environment can significantly influence the reaction rates and selectivity.However,the underlying microscopic mechanism remains ambiguous.In this work,the multiscale reaction density functional theory is applied to explore the effect of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate([BMIM][PF_(6)])solvent on the reaction of cyclopentadiene(CP)with acrolein,methyl acrylate,or acrylonitrile.By analyzing the free energy landscape during the reaction,it is found that the polarization effect has a relatively small influence,while the solvation effect makes both the activation free energy and reaction free energy decrease.In addition,the rearrangement of local solvent structure shows that the cation spatial distribution responds more evidently to the reaction than the anion,and this indicates that the cation plays a dominant role in the solvation effect and so as to affect the reaction rates and selectivity of the DA reactions.

Efficient and reversible separation of NH_(3) by deep eutectic solvents with multiple active sites and low viscosities

The efficient separation and collection of ammonia(NH_(3))during NH_(3) synthesis process is essential to improve the economic efficiency and protect the environment.In this work,ethanolammonium hydrochloride(EtOHACl)and phenol(PhOH)were used to prepare a novel class of deep eutectic solvents(DESs)with multiple active sites and low viscosities.The NH_(3) separation performance of EtOHACl+PhOH DESs was analyzed completely.It is figured out that the NH_(3) absorption rates in EtOHACl+PhOH DESs are very fast.The NH_(3) absorption capacities are very high and reach up to 5.52 and 10.74 mol·kg1 at 11.2 and 100.4 kPa under 298.2 K,respectively.In addition,the EtOHACl+PhOH DESs present highly selective absorption of NH_(3) over N_(2) and H_(2) and good regenerative properties after seven cycles of absorption/desorption.The intrinsic separation mechanism of NH_(3) by EtOHACl+PhOH DESs was further revealed by spectroscopic analysis and quantum chemistry calculations.

Oxidative Desulfurization of Fuel Oil with H_(3)PO_(4)-based Deep Eutectic Solvents

A series of Lewis-acid deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were synthesized by stirring phosphoric acid and zincchloride as raw materials at 80℃ to form H_(3)PO_(4)/nZnCl_(2) (n = 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1). The DESs were characterized byFourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT-IR), thermogravimetry/differential thermogravimetry (TG/DTG), andelectron spray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The DESs were used as both extractants and catalysts to removedibenzothiophene from fuels via oxidative desulfurization (ODS). Experiments were performed to investigated the influenceof factors such as composition of DES, temperature, oxidant dosage (molar ratio of O:S), DES dosage (volume ratio ofDES:oil), and number of cycles on desulfurization rate. The results indicated that the removal rate of dibenzothiophene (DBT)was affected by the Lewis acidic DESs, with that of H_(3)PO_(4)/0.25∙ZnCl_(2) reaching 96.4% under optimal conditions (Voil=5 mL,VDES=1 mL, an oxidant dosage of 6, T=50 ℃). After six cycles, the desulfurization rate of H_(3)PO_(4)/0.25∙ZnCl_(2) remained above94.1%. The apparent activation energy of dibenzothiophene (DBT) removal reaction was determined by a pseudo-first orderkinetic equation according to the Arrhenius equation to be 32.34 kJ/mol, as estimated. A reaction mechanism is proposedbased on the experimental data and characterization results.

Rational surface charge engineering of haloalkane dehalogenase for boosting the enzymatic performance in organic solvent solutions

Biocatalysis in organic solvents(OSs)has numerous important applications,but native enzymes in OSs often exhibit limited catalytic performance.Herein,we proposed a computation-aided surface charge engineering strategy to improve the catalytic performance of haloalkane dehalogenase DhaA in OSs based on the energetic analysis of substrate binding to the DhaA surface.Several variants with enhanced OS resistance were obtained by replacing negative charged residues on the surface with positive charged residue(Arg).Particularly,a four-substitution variant E16R/E93R/E121R/E257R exhibited the best catalytic performance(five-fold improvement in OS resistance and seven-fold half-life increase in 40%(vol)dimethylsulfoxide).As a result,the overall catalytic performance of the variant could be at least 26 times higher than the wild-type DhaA.Fluorescence spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation studies revealed that the residue substitution mainly enhanced OS resistance from four aspects:(a)improved the overall structural stability,(b)increased the hydrophobicity of the local microenvironment around the catalytic triad,(c)enriched the hydrophobic substrate around the enzyme molecule,and(d)lowered the contact frequency between OS molecules and the catalytic triad.Our findings validate that computationaided surface charge engineering is an effective and ingenious rational strategy for tailoring enzyme performance in OSs.

Deep eutectic solvents for separation and purification applications in critical metal metallurgy:Recent advances and perspectives

Solvent extraction,a separation and purification technology,is crucial in critical metal metallurgy.Organic solvents commonly used in solvent extraction exhibit disadvantages,such as high volatility,high toxicity,and flammability,causing a spectrum of hazards to human health and environmental safety.Neoteric solvents have been recognized as potential alternatives to these harmful organic solvents.In the past two decades,several neoteric solvents have been proposed,including ionic liquids(ILs)and deep eutectic solvents(DESs).DESs have gradually become the focus of green solvents owing to several advantages,namely,low toxicity,degradability,and low cost.In this critical review,their classification,formation mechanisms,preparation methods,characterization technologies,and special physicochemical properties based on the most recent advancements in research have been systematically described.Subsequently,the major separation and purification applications of DESs in critical metal metallurgy were comprehensively summarized.Finally,future opportunities and challenges of DESs were explored in the current research area.In conclusion,this review provides valuable insights for improving our overall understanding of DESs,and it holds important potential for expanding separation and purification applications in critical metal metallurgy.

Machine-Learning-Assisted Design of Deep Eutectic Solvents Based on Uncovered Hydrogen Bond Patterns

Non-ionic deep eutectic solvents(DESs)are non-ionic designer solvents with various applications in catalysis,extraction,carbon capture,and pharmaceuticals.However,discovering new DES candidates is challenging due to a lack of efficient tools that accurately predict DES formation.The search for DES relies heavily on intuition or trial-and-error processes,leading to low success rates or missed opportunities.Recognizing that hydrogen bonds(HBs)play a central role in DES formation,we aim to identify HB features that distinguish DES from non-DES systems and use them to develop machine learning(ML)models to discover new DES systems.We first analyze the HB properties of 38 known DES and 111 known non-DES systems using their molecular dynamics(MD)simulation trajectories.The analysis reveals that DES systems have two unique features compared to non-DES systems:The DESs have①more imbalance between the numbers of the two intra-component HBs and②more and stronger inter-component HBs.Based on these results,we develop 30 ML models using ten algorithms and three types of HB-based descriptors.The model performance is first benchmarked using the average and minimal receiver operating characteristic(ROC)-area under the curve(AUC)values.We also analyze the importance of individual features in the models,and the results are consistent with the simulation-based statistical analysis.Finally,we validate the models using the experimental data of 34 systems.The extra trees forest model outperforms the other models in the validation,with an ROC-AUC of 0.88.Our work illustrates the importance of HBs in DES formation and shows the potential of ML in discovering new DESs.

Sodium Nitrate/Formamide Deep Eutectic Solvent as Flame-Retardant and Anticorrosive Electrolyte Enabling 2.6 V Safe Supercapacitors with Long Cyclic Stability

Safe operation of electrochemical capacitors(supercapacitors)is hindered by the flammability of commercial organic electrolytes.Non-flammable Water-in-Salt(WIS)electrolytes are promising alternatives;however,they are plagued by the limited operation voltage window(typically≤2.3 V)and inherent corrosion of current collectors.Herein,a novel deep eutectic solvent(DES)-based electrolyte which uses formamide(FMD)as hydrogen-bond donor and sodium nitrate(NaNO_(3))as hydrogen-bond acceptor is demonstrated.The electrolyte exhibits the wide electrochemical stability window(3.14 V),high electrical conductivity(14.01 mScm^(-1)),good flame-retardance,anticorrosive property,and ultralow cost(7%of the commercial electrolyte and 2%of WIS).Raman spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory calculations reveal that the hydrogen bonds between the FMD molecules and NO_(3)^(-)ions are primarily responsible for the superior stability and conductivity.The developed NaNO_(3)/FMD-based coin cell supercapacitor is among the best-performing state-of-art DES and WIS devices,evidenced by the high voltage window(2.6 V),outstanding energy and power densities(22.77 Wh kg^(-1)at 630 W kg^(-1)and 17.37 kW kg^(-1)at 12.55 Wh kg^(-1)),ultralong cyclic stability(86%after 30000 cycles),and negligible current collector corrosion.The NaNO_(3)/FMD industry adoption potential is demonstrated by fabricating 100 F pouch cell supercapacitors using commercial aluminum current collectors.

Lithium-ion and solvent co-intercalation enhancing the energy density of fluorinated graphene cathode

Fluorinated carbons CF_xhold the highest theoretical energy density(e.g.,2180 W h kg^(-1)when x=1)among all cathode materials of lithium primary batteries.However,the low conductivity and severe polarization limit it to achieve its theory.In this study,we design a new electrolyte,namely 1 M LiBF_(4)DMSO:DOL(1:9 vol.),achieving a high energy density in Li/CF_xprimary cells.The DMSO with a small molecular size and high donor number successfully solvates Li^(+)into a defined Li^(+)-solvation structure.Such solvated Li^(+)can intercalate into the large-spacing carbon layers and achieve an improved capacity.Consequently,when discharged to 1.0 V,the CF_(1.12)cathode demonstrates a specific capacity of 1944 m A h g^(-1)with a specific energy density of 3793 W h kg^(-1).This strategy demonstrates that designing the electrolyte is powerful in improving the electrochemical performance of CF_(x) cathode.

Effect of solvent on the initiation mechanism of living anionic polymerization of styrene:A computational study

For living anionic polymerization(LAP),solvent has a great influence on both reaction mechanism and kinetics.In this work,by using the classical butyl lithium-styrene polymerization as a model system,the effect of solvent on the mechanism and kinetics of LAP was revealed through a strategy combining density functional theory(DFT)calculations and kinetic modeling.In terms of mechanism,it is found that the stronger the solvent polarity,the more electrons transfer from initiator to solvent through detailed energy decomposition analysis of electrostatic interactions between initiator and solvent molecules.Furthermore,we also found that the stronger the solvent polarity,the higher the monomer initiation energy barrier and the smaller the initiation rate coefficient.Counterintuitively,initiation is more favorable at lower temperatures based on the calculated results ofΔG_(TS).Finally,the kinetic characteristics in different solvents were further examined by kinetic modeling.It is found that in benzene and n-pentane,the polymerization rate exhibits first-order kinetics.While,slow initiation and fast propagation were observed in tetrahydrofuran(THF)due to the slow free ion formation rate,leading to a deviation from first-order kinetics.

Activation mechanism of conventional electrolytes with amine solvents:Species evolution and hydride-containing interphase formation

Rechargeable magnesium(Mg)-metal batteries have brought great expect to overcome the safety and energy density concerns of typical lithium-ion batteries.However,interracial passivation of the Mgmetal anode impairs the reversible Mg plating/stripping chemistries,resulting in low Coulombic efficiency and large overpotential.In this work,a facile isobutylamine(IBA)-assisted activation strategy has been proposed and the fundamental mechanism has been unveiled in a specific way of evolving active species and forming MgH_(2)-based solid-electrolyte interphase.After introducing IBA into a typical electrolyte of magnesium bis(trifluoromethanesulfo nyl) imide(Mg(TFSI)_(2)) in diglyme(G2) solvents,electrolyte species of [Mg^(2+)(IBA)5]^(2+) and protonated amine-based cations of [(IBA)H]^(+) have been detected by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectra.This not only indicates direct solvation of IBA toward Mg^(2+)but also suggests its ionization,which is central to mitigating the decomposition of G2 and TFSI anions by forming neutrally charged [(IBAH^(+))(TFSI^(-))]~0 and other complex ions.A series of experiments,including cryogenic-electron microscopy,D_(2)O titration-mass spectra,and time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry results,reveal a thin,non-passivated,and MgH_(2)-containing interphase on the Mg-metal anode.Besides,uniform and dendrite-free Mg electrodeposits have been revealed in composite electrolytes.Benefiting from the activation effects of IBA,the composite electrolyte displays superior electrochemical performance(overpotential is approximately 0.16 V versus 2.00 V for conventional electrolyte;Coulombic efficiency is above 90% versus <10% for conventional electrolyte).This work offers a fresh direction to advanced electrolyte design for next-generation rechargeable batteries.