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Vol. 17 (2025)

Induction Effect of Fluorine-Grafted Polymer-Based Electrolytes for High-Performance Lithium Metal Batteries

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01738-9
Haiman Hu
Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Jiajia Li
Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Fei Lin
Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Jiaqi Huang
Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Huaiyang Zheng
Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden
Haitao Zhang
CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Beijing Key Laboratory of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, People’s Republic of China
Xiaoyan Ji
Energy Engineering, Division of Energy Science, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden

Corresponding Author: Xiaoyan Ji

xiaoyan.ji@ltu.se

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 256

Abstract

Quasi-solid-state composite electrolytes (QSCEs) show promise for high-performance solid-state batteries, while they still struggle with interfacial stability and cycling performance. Herein, a F-grafted QSCE (F-QSCE) was developed via copolymerizing the F monomers and ionic liquid monomers. The F-QSCE demonstrates better overall performance, such as high ionic conductivity of 1.21 mS cm–1 at 25 °C, wide electrochemical windows of 5.20 V, and stable cycling stability for Li//Li symmetric cells over 4000 h. This is attributed to the significant electronegativity difference between C and F in the fluorinated chain (‒CF2‒CF‒CF3), which causes the electron cloud to shift toward the F atom, surrounding it with a negative charge and producing the inductive effect. Furthermore, the interactions between Li+ and F, TFSI‒, and C are enhanced, reducing ion pair aggregation (Li+‒TFSI‒‒Li+) and promoting Li+ transport. Besides, ‒CF2‒CF‒CF3 decomposes to form LiF preferentially over TFSI–, resulting in better interfacial stability for F-QSCE. This work provides a pathway to enable the development of high-performance Li metal batteries.


Highlights:
1 Fluorine-grafted quasi-solid-state composite electrolyte (F-QSCE)@30 exhibits high ionic conductivity of 1.21 mS cm–1 at 25 °C.
2 The inductive effect weakens the coordination between Li+ and TFSI‒, enhancing Li+ transport.
3 LiF in the solid electrolyte interphase of F-QSCE@30 comes from decomposed F segments, not TFSI‒.
4 F-QSCE@30 maintains stability with Li metal for over 4000 h and inhibits dendrite growth.

Keywords

Fluorine-grafted polymer Induction effect High interface stability Quasi-solid-state electrolytes Lithium metal battery
Hu, Haiman, Jiajia Li, Fei Lin, Jiaqi Huang, Huaiyang Zheng, Haitao Zhang, and Xiaoyan Ji. 2025. “Induction Effect of Fluorine-Grafted Polymer-Based Electrolytes for High-Performance Lithium Metal Batteries”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (May):256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-025-01738-9.
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