High Lithium Transference Number Electrolytes Containing Tetratriflylpropene's Lithium Salt

Electrolytes with a high lithium transference number linked with high ionic conductivity are urgently needed for high power battery operation. In this work, we present newly synthesized lithium tetra(trifluoromethane-sulfonyl)propene as a salt-in-glyme-based "salt-in-solvent" electrolyte. We employ impedance spectroscopy in symmetric Li/electrolyte/Li cells and pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the lithium conduction mechanism. We find predominant lithium conductivity with very high lithium transference numbers (similar to 70% from the polarization experiments) and three times higher ionic conductivity compared to well-known lithium triflate in diglyme electrolyte. This is a consequence of the reduced mobilities of large anions linked with improved ionic dissociation.