Electrolyte Additive Enabling Conditioning-Free Electrolytes for Magnesium Batteries

Most electrolytes for rechargeable Mg batteries require time-consuming conditioning or precycling process to achieve a fully reversible Mg deposition/dissolution, which hinders the normal operation of Mg batteries. This study details a simple and effective method for eliminating this conditioning behavior using heptamethyldisilazane (HpMS) as an electrolyte additive. It was found that the HpMS additive greatly increases the current density and Coulombic efficiency of Mg deposition/dissolution from the initial cycles in various sulfone and glyme solutions containing MgCl2 or Mg(TFSI)2. The beneficial effect of HpMS was ascribed to its ability to scavenge trace water in the electrolytes and remove Mg(OH)2 and Mg(TFSI)2-decomposition products from the Mg surface. Considering its applicability for a wide range of Mg electrolytes, the use of HpMS is expected to accelerate the development of practical Mg batteries.