Li [Ni 0.42 Mn 0.42 Co 0.16 ]O 2 (NMC442)/graphite pouch cells with 1 M LiPF 6 in ethylene carbonate (EC): ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC) (3:7 by weight) electrolyte containing 2 wt% vinylene carbonate (VC), 2 wt% prop-1-ene-1,3 sultone (PES), or 2 wt% PES + 1 wt% tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite (TTSPi) + 1 wt% methylene methanedisulfonate (MMDS) ("PES-211") were subjected to cycling tests at various upper cut-off voltages from 4.2 to 4.7 V. After every 10 cycles, the pouch cells were charged or discharged to 3.8 V and evaluated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). This approach allows the impact of electrolyte additives on the impedance of cells cycled to different cut-off voltages to be studied systematically. The addition of 2% PES or "PES-211" proved to be beneficial in suppressing impedance growth when cells are cycled up to and above 4.4 V. Long-term cycling tests between 3.0 V and 4.4 V at 45 • C showed that "PES-211" had the best capacity retention (∼85%) and the least impedance growth after 500 cycles. The results suggest the use of "PES-211" could lead to longer lived and higher power NMC/graphite Li-ion cells with better tolerance to high voltage (4.4 V) which will improve energy density. Lithium-ion cells are now widely used in various applications ranging from portable electronics to electrified vehicles.1 However, they still suffer from limited life-time due to the parasitic reactions between charged electrode materials and electrolytes during cycling or storage.2 The addition of electrolyte additives is one of the most economical and effective ways to improve the performance (e.g. calendar life, impedance, safety etc.) of lithium-ion cells.
3,4The most famous additive, vinylene carbonate (VC) has been shown to be able to reduce charge end-point capacity slippage and increase coulombic efficiency (CE) showed that prop-1-ene-1,3 sultone (PES), a novel sulfur-containing electrolyte additive, could also increase CE, decrease charge end-point capacity slippage and even suppress gas production of NMC111/graphite pouch cells with a charge cut-off voltage of 4.2 V, which made PES more attractive than VC. Systematic studies by Nelson et al. 8 showed that 2% PES is the optimum concentration of PES for NMC111/graphite and NMC442/graphite cells. Recently, a major study of the effects of 19 electrolyte additives and their combinations on NMC111/graphite cells by Wang et al. 9 showed that selected ternary or quaternary additive combinations, especially 2% PES + 1% methylene methanedisulfonate (MMDS) + 1% tris(trimethylsilyl) phosphite (TTSPi) ("PES-211") gave significant improvements in long-term cycling, CE, and charge end-point capacity slippage. NMC442/graphite pouch cells can, in principle, be operated up to 4.7 V, which will access more positive electrode capacity and increase energy density. However, high voltage operation has proven to be difficult because many electrolyte solvents and additives are unstable at higher voltage, which can cause a dramatic decrease in the lifetimes of Li-...