Itaconic Anhydride as a Novel Bio‐Derived Solid Electrolyte Interphase Forming Additive for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

TL;DR

This paper introduces itaconic anhydride as a sustainable, bio-based additive for lithium-ion batteries that forms a stable solid electrolyte interphase, performing similarly to traditional petrochemical additives.

Contribution

The novel contribution is the use of itaconic anhydride, a bio-derived compound, as an effective SEI-forming additive in lithium-ion batteries.

Findings

Itaconic anhydride forms a stable SEI layer on graphite electrodes with C–O and COO− species.

ITC-based electrolytes show electrochemical performance comparable to VC-based ones in graphite and LFP half-cells.

ITC undergoes a distinct reduction mechanism, offering insights into its SEI formation pathway.

Abstract

In this work, itaconic anhydride (ITC) is introduced as a novel bio‐derived additive for lithium‐ion batteries. Its ability to create a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is evaluated in graphite electrodes and compared to vinylene carbonate (VC). The findings show that electrolytes consisting of 1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide in propylene carbonate and containing ITC and VC additives display similar physicochemical properties. The ability of ITC to form an effective SEI is demonstrated by reversible lithium intercalation during galvanostatic cycling and further corroborated by in situ Raman spectroscopy. Moreover, graphite and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) half‐cells display similar electrochemical performance in terms of rate capability and capacity retention along cycling for ITC‐ and VC‐based formulations. ITC undergoes a distinct reduction mechanism on graphite, forming a SEI layer containing C–O and COO− species. Additionally, some insights into the plausible reaction pathways of the reduction byproducts associated with ITC are provided. In sum, this work aims to pave the way toward enhancing the overall sustainability of energy storage devices by exploring a novel bio‐based alternative to conventional petrochemical‐derived additives.

This work presents itaconic anhydride as a novel bio‐derived additive able to form a suitable solid electrolyte interphase on graphite anodes and demonstrating similar performance to that of vinylene carbonate. Further, its decomposition mechanisms are investigated and a plausible pathway for solid electrolyte interphase formation is proposed.© 2025 WILEY‐VCH GmbH

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