Reaction Mechanisms of Fluoroethylene Carbonate Degradation, an Additive of Lithium‐Ion Batteries, Unraveled by Radiation Chemistry

Abstract : Numerous additives are used in electrolytes of lithium-ion batteries, especially for the formation of efficient solid electrolyte interphase at the surface of the electrodes. The understanding of the degradation processes of these compounds is thus important. They can be obtained through radiolysis. In the case of fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), picosecond pulse radiolysis experiments evidenced the formation of FEC$^{•-}$. This radical is stabilized in neat FEC, whereas the ring opens to form more stable radical anions when FEC is a solute in other solvents, as confirmed by quantum chemistry calculations. In neat FEC, pre-solvated electrons primarily undergo attachment compared to solvation. At long timescales, produced gases (H$_2$, CO, and CO$_2$) were quantified. A reaction scheme for both the oxidizing and reducing pathways at stake in irradiated FEC was proposed. This work evidences that the nature of the primary species formed in FEC depends on the amount of FEC in the solution.