Tin (Sn) nanoparticle electrodes have been prepared and battery cycling performance has been investigated with 1.2 M LiPF 6 in ethylene carbonate (EC) / diethyl carbonate (DEC) electrolyte (1:1, w/w) with and without added vinylene carbonate (VC) or fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC). Incorporation of either VC or FEC improves the capacity retention of Sn nanoparticle electrodes although incorporation of VC also results in a significant increase in cell impedance. The best electrochemical performance was observed with electrolyte containing 10% of added FEC. In order to develop a better understanding of the role of the electrolyte in capacity retention and solid electrolyte interface (SEI) structure, ex-situ surface analysis has been performed on cycled electrodes with infrared (IR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Hard XPS (HAXPES). The ex-situ analysis reveals a correlation between electrochemical performance, electrolyte composition, and SEI structure. Graphite has been widely used as an anode material in lithium ion batteries. However, there is significant interest in increasing the energy density of lithium ion batteries for electric vehicle applications.1 One method of current interest for increasing the energy density of lithium ion batteries includes the use of high capacity metal alloy anode materials, such as silicon (Si) and tin (Sn).2-6 Sn has almost three times more capacity (944 mAh/g) than graphite (372 mAh/g). However, a major challenge for the use Sn as an anode material is the large volume expansion/contraction during lithium insertion and extraction. The large surface area changes result in damage to the anode solid electrolyte interface (SEI) and continuous decomposition of the electrolyte. There have been many investigations of novel fabrication methods for Sn-based anodes to mitigate the problems with the SEI due to the volume changes.2,7-9 However, few investigations have focused on developing a better understanding of SEI formation on Sn anodes. [10][11][12] In order to develop Sn anodes for lithium ion batteries, a better understanding of the structure and function of the SEI on Sn is required.In this investigation, Sn nanoparticle electrodes were prepared and tested with different electrolytes. A standard electrolyte composed of 1.2 M LiPF 6 in EC/DEC with and without 5 or 10% of the SEI film forming additives FEC or VC has been investigated for optimization of an electrolyte formulation for Sn electrodes. 13 The cells have been analyzed via electrochemical cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In order to develop a better understanding of the role of the electrolyte in SEI formation and stability, the Sn nanoparticle electrodes were extracted from cells and ex-situ surface analysis with infrared with attenuated total reflectance (IR-ATR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Hard XPS (HAXPES) was conducted. While IR-ATR and XPS are frequently utilized analytical techniques for the investigation of the SEI, 14 HAXPES has been less utilized due to...