# Cosolvent‐Regulated Weakly Solvating Locally Concentrated Ionic Liquid Electrolyte for Long‐Life Lithium Metal Batteries at Low Temperatures

**Authors:** Lei Xu, Bing Ding, Chong Xu, Miao Xu, Zengjie Fan, Peng Song, Jie Wang, Xiaogang Zhang, Yusuke Yamauchi

PMC · DOI: 10.1002/smsc.202500590 · Small Science · 2026-02-27

## TL;DR

A new electrolyte design improves lithium metal batteries' performance at low temperatures by enhancing ion transport and forming a stable interface.

## Contribution

Introduces monofluorobenzene as a cosolvent to optimize ionic liquid electrolytes for low-temperature lithium metal batteries.

## Key findings

- Monofluorobenzene weakens Li+ coordination and ionic aggregation, enabling fast Li+ transport.
- The electrolyte forms a robust inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interphase at the interface.
- Lithium plating/stripping remains stable for 4000 hours with low overpotential at low temperatures.

## Abstract

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are attractive next‐generation high‐energy‐density systems, but their operation at low temperatures is hindered by sluggish ion transport and unstable interfaces, which trigger dendrite formation and poor Coulombic efficiency. Herein, we introduce monofluorobenzene (FB) as the weakly solvated cosolvent to modulate the liquidity and microstructure of locally concentrated ionic liquid electrolytes to address these challenges. The weak interaction between FB and Li+ as well as organic cations not only weakens the strong coordination of Li+‐anion but also loosens the dense ionic aggregation structure, enabling fast Li+ transport in both the bulk and interface. Simultaneously, it drives preferential anion decomposition at the interface, yielding a robust inorganic‐rich solid electrolyte interphase. The optimized electrolyte enables stable lithium plating/stripping for 4000 h with low overpotential and achieves outstanding cycling performance in Li||NCM93 cells, maintaining stable cycling for over 500 cycles at −20°C. This work establishes a practical electrolyte design strategy for enabling long‐cycling, low‐temperature LMBs.

Monofluorobenzene‐regulated weakly solvating ionic liquid electrolyte enhances Li+ transport and drives inorganic‐rich solid electrolyte interphase formation, enabling stable long‐cycle operation of lithium metal batteries at low temperatures. The optimized electrolyte achieves outstanding cycling performance in Li||NCM93 cells, maintaining stable cycling for over 500 cycles at −20°C.© 2026 WILEY‐VCH GmbH

## Linked entities

- **Chemicals:** monofluorobenzene (PubChem CID 10008), Li+ (PubChem CID 28486)

## Full-text entities

- **Chemicals:** N (MESH:D009584), Ni (MESH:D009532), C (MESH:D002244), S (MESH:D013455), Al (MESH:D000535), C-F (MESH:D002142), 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl-2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl ether (-), sulfides (MESH:D013440), sulfates (MESH:D013431), O (MESH:D010100), H (MESH:D006859), sulfites (MESH:D013447), Cu (MESH:D003300), Ar (MESH:D001128), Mn (MESH:D008345), Co (MESH:D003035), LiF (MESH:C027651), F (MESH:D005461), Electrolyte (MESH:D004573), PP (MESH:D011126), fluorides (MESH:D005459), Li (MESH:D008094)
- **Cell lines:** LillNCM93 — Homo sapiens (Human), Nephropathic cystinosis, Finite cell line (CVCL_CW96), LillLiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 — Homo sapiens (Human), Induced pluripotent stem cell (CVCL_1E78), S21 — Mus musculus (Mouse), Transformed cell line (CVCL_K245), S25 — Mus musculus (Mouse), Hybridoma (CVCL_G585), S2 — Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_Z232), LillLiNi0.93Co0.035Mn0.035O2 — Homo sapiens (Human), Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy type 26, Induced pluripotent stem cell (CVCL_A6XE), NCM93 — Homo sapiens (Human), Spontaneously immortalized cell line (CVCL_0460)

## Full text

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## Figures

5 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12955906/full.md

## References

44 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12955906/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12955906