Corrosion/passivation of aluminum current collector in bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide-based ionic liquid for lithium-ion batteries

The corrosion behavior of aluminum foil that is used as the positive current collector for lithium-ion batteries is studied in N-methyl-N-propyl-pyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (PMPyr-FSI), which is considered as a highly attractive solvent due to a very low viscosity. This work reports that FSI anion is corrosive for aluminum foil upon anodic polarization (> 4.0 V vs. Li/Li+). The pitting corrosion is, however, greatly reduced by adding lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6). The anion of the salt is known to be a corrosion inhibitor for aluminum. It likely reacts to generate hydrofluoric acid that then attacks the native aluminum oxide (Al2O3) to produce a strong passivation layer comprising aluminum fluoride (AlF3). Resultantly, the high rate capability, which is the potential merit achievable by using the FSI-containing ionic liquid solvent, can be implemented with a LiCoO2 positive electrode.