Vibrational Spectra and Ion-Pair Properties of Lithium Hexafluorophosphate in Ethylene Carbonate Based Mixed-Solvent Systems for Lithium Batteries

The vibrational spectra of LiPF6 1M solutions formed in aprotic mixed solventsobtained by mixing ethylene carbonate with dimethyl carbonate and diethylcarbonate are discussed. The Raman and infrared spectra of lithium hexafluorophosphate(LiPF6) and the quantum chemical computations of the vibrationalwavenumbers and intensities are reported. Due to the nature of the solutions,attenuated total internal reflectance spectroscopy was used to obtain the infraredspectra. The infrared active vibrational fundamentals of PF6− provided evidencefor the anion—solvent interaction as well as ion-pair formation. Similarly, theinfrared active modes of the solvent showed significant changes due to thecation—solvent interaction. The computations of the most energetically favorablegeometry in the formation of the Li+ PF6 ion pair are also presented. Conductivitymeasurements carried out for the 1M solutions scanning a wide temperatureinterval (−30 to + 60 °C) confirm the viability of these electrolytes forpractical applications.