Novel Nonflammable Electrolytes for Secondary Magnesium Batteries and High Voltage Electrolytes for Electrochemcial Supercapacitors

Magnesium has been used successfully in primary batteries, but its use in rechargeable cells has been stymied by the lack of suitable non-aqueous electrolyte that can conduct Mg+2 species, combined with poor stripping and plating properties. The development of a suitable cathode material for rechargeable magnesium batteries has also been a roadblock, but a nonflammable electrolyte is key. Likewise, the development of safe high voltage electrochemical supercapaitors has been stymied by the use of flammable solvents in the liquid electrolyte; to wit, acetonitrile. The purpose of the research conducted in this effort was to identify useful compositions of magnesium salts and polyphosphate solvents that would enable magnesium ions to be cycled within a secondary battery design. The polyphosphate solvents would provide the solvent for the magnesium salts while preventing the electrolyte from being flammable. This would enable these novel electrolytes to be considered as an alternative to THF-based electrolytes. In addition, we explored several of these solvents together with lithium slats for use as high voltage electrolytes for carbon-based electrochemical supercapacitors. The research was successful in that: 1) Magnesium imide dissolved in a phosphate ester solvent that contains a halogented phosphate ester appears to be the preferred electrolyte for amore » rechargeable Mg cell. 2) A combination of B-doped CNTs and vanadium phosphate appear to be the cathode of choice for a rechargeable Mg cell by virtue of higher voltage and better reversibility. 3) Magnesium alloys appear to perform better than pure magnesium when used in combination with the novel polyphosphate electrolytes. Also, this effort has established that Phoenix Innovation's family of phosphonate/phosphate electrolytes together with specific lithium slats can be used in supercapacitor systems at voltages of greater than 10V.« less