The use of S,S-dialkyl dithiocarbonates in Li ion battery electrolytes

S,S-dialkyl dithiocarbonates such as S,S-dimethyl dithiocarbonate and S,S-diethyl dithiocarbonate were tested as solvents for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. Graphite electrodes can be successfully cycled at high reversible capacities in an S,S-dimethyl dithiocarbonate solution containing 1 M LiAsF6, while lithium ions cannot intercalate into graphite in S,S-diethyl dithiocarbonate solutions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometric methods were used in order to monitor the reaction mechanism.