Chemistry

Metallurgy

Materials science

Electrochemistry

Engineering

Conductivity

Power (physics)

Lithium (medication)

Physics

Electrode

Energy storage

Anode

Endocrinology

Quantum mechanics

Electrolyte

Cathode

Metal

Battery (electricity)

Inorganic chemistry

Lithium metal

Chemical engineering

Faraday efficiency

Physical chemistry

Supercapacitor

Medicine

Advanced Materials

Rechargeable lithium-metal batteries (LMBs) are regarded as the "holy grail" of energy-storage systems, but the electrolytes that are highly stable with both a lithium-metal anode and high-voltage cathodes still remain a great challenge. Here a novel "localized high-concentration electrolyte" (HCE; 1.2 m lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in a mixture of dimethyl carbonate/bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl) ether (1:2 by mol)) is reported that enables dendrite-free cycling of lithium-metal anodes with high Coulombic efficiency (99.5%) and excellent capacity retention (>80% after 700 cycles) of Li||LiNi1/3 Mn1/3 Co1/3 O2 batteries. Unlike the HCEs reported before, the electrolyte reported in this work exhibits low concentration, low cost, low viscosity, improved conductivity, and good wettability that make LMBs closer to practical applications. The fundamental concept of "localized HCEs" developed in this work can also be applied to other battery systems, sensors, supercapacitors, and other electrochemical systems.

High‐Voltage Lithium‐Metal Batteries Enabled by Localized High‐Concentration Electrolytes