Electrolyte Evolution: A Roadmap from Solvation Structure to Next-Generation Batteries

TL;DR

This review explains how new electrolyte designs improve battery performance by changing how ions and solvents interact, aiming to create better energy storage solutions.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive roadmap for solvation-structure regulation in electrolytes to advance next-generation battery technologies.

Findings

Five strategies for solvation-structure regulation are highlighted to overcome limitations of conventional electrolytes.

These strategies have significantly improved performance in various battery systems like Li-ion, Na-ion, and Li–S batteries.

Challenges and opportunities in solvation-structure design are outlined for future research and development.

Abstract

This review elucidates how innovative electrolytes (highly concentrated electrolytes, localized high-concentration electrolytes, etc.) reshape ion–solvent interactions.Solvation-structure regulation is highlighted as the key to enhanced battery performance, with its recent advances summarized across diverse battery systems.This review outlines challenges and opportunities in solvation-structure design to guide next-generation energy storage technologies.

This review elucidates how innovative electrolytes (highly concentrated electrolytes, localized high-concentration electrolytes, etc.) reshape ion–solvent interactions.

Solvation-structure regulation is highlighted as the key to enhanced battery performance, with its recent advances summarized across diverse battery systems.

This review outlines challenges and opportunities in solvation-structure design to guide next-generation energy storage technologies.

Driven by global strategies for decarbonization and carbon neutrality, renewable-energy intermittency underscores the importance of large-scale electrochemical energy storage (EES). Rechargeable batteries, as the core components within EES, have long been restricted by limitations intrinsic to conventional dilute electrolytes, including narrow electrochemical stability windows, poor low-temperature performance, high flammability, and weak compatibility with high-voltage electrodes. Regulation of solvation structure in electrolytes has emerged as a key approach to overcome these bottlenecks. This review highlights five representative strategies: highly concentrated electrolytes, localized high-concentration electrolytes, weakly solvating electrolytes, hydrogen-bond regulated electrolytes, and eutectic electrolytes. These strategies have greatly advanced Li-ion, Na-ion, Zn-ion, Li–S, Li–air, and Na–S batteries. Finally, challenges ahead and opportunities in solvation-structure design are summarized to guide innovative and sustainable progress in next-generation energy storage technologies.

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