Prospects for Improved Magnesocene-Based Magnesium Battery Electrolytes
Journal article, 2021
Magnesium batteries are currently attracting a lot of interest as a next generation battery technology. One critical issue is to find a suitable electrolyte and herein we explore an electrolyte based on magnesocene (MgCp2) in tetrahydrofuran (THF), aiming for low-voltage Mg batteries, with respect to: Mg plating characteristics, electrochemical stability windows, electrolyte speciation, and electrolyte decomposition reactions; both experimentally and computationally. Overall, the electrolyte does not seem to decompose on a Mg metal anode and most likely reduced solvation of Mg2+ by the Cp- anion is important and species such as MgCp2THF2 may play an important role for Mg plating with small overpotential. The oxidation limit is largely determined by the Cp- anion and density functional theory predicted oxidation reactions point to polymerized end-products to be possible. Furthermore, in silico substitution studies enable us to establish the prospects of some Cp- anion derivatives to further improve the oxidative stability, but still the Mg2+ solvation must be monitored for ease of reduction and Mg plating.
density functional theory
electrolyte decomposition reactions
bis(cyclopentadienyl) magnesium
magnesium electroplating
electrochemical stability window
Author
Piotr Jankowski
Warsaw University of Technology
Chalmers, Physics, Materials Physics
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
Alistore - European Research Institute
Rainer Schwarz
Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Wurttembergstiftung (ZSW)
Anna Randon-Vitanova
Honda R&D Europe (Germany) GmbH
Reza Younesi
Uppsala University
Alistore - European Research Institute
Mario Wachtler
Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Wurttembergstiftung (ZSW)
Uppsala University
Patrik Johansson
Alistore - European Research Institute
Chalmers, Physics, Materials Physics
Batteries and Supercaps
25666223 (eISSN)
Vol. 4 8 1335-1343Subject Categories
Inorganic Chemistry
Other Chemical Engineering
Other Chemistry Topics
DOI
10.1002/batt.202100040