Hydrofluorocarbon electrolytes for energy-dense and low-temperature batteries

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- Article

- Published: 25 February 2026

Hydrofluorocarbon electrolytes for energy-dense and low-temperature batteries

- Lanqing Wu1,2,
- Jinyu Zhang1,
- Yong Li3,
- Zhenyu Fan1,
- Shuangxin Ren1,
- Jie Zhang1,
- Yawen Li1,
- Youxuan Ni1,
- Weiwei Xie1,
- Yong Lu
orcid.org/0009-0002-2148-49081,
- Jun Chen
orcid.org/0000-0001-8604-96891,2 &
- …
- Qing Zhao
orcid.org/0000-0003-0625-98921,2

Nature

(2026)Cite this article

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#### Subjects

- Batteries
- Electrochemistry
- Materials for energy and catalysis

Abstract

Electrolyte solvents for electrochemical devices have been dominated by oxygen (O)-based and nitrogen (N)-based ligands over the past decades1,2,3,4,5, for which the dipole–ion (Li+, Na+ and so on) interaction usually lays the foundations of ion dissociation and transport but frustrates the charge transfer process at the electrolyte–electrode interface6,7,8,9. Here, by synthesizing alkanes with monofluorinated structures, we show that fluorine (F)-based ligands with designed steric hindrance and Lewis basicity enable salt dissolution of more than 2 mol l−1. Among them, 1,3-difluoro-propane (DFP)-based Li-ion electrolyte is endowed with all merits for energy-dense and low-temperature batteries, including low viscosity (0.95 cp), high oxidation stability (>4.9 V) and ionic conductivity of 0.29 mS cm−1 at −70 °C. By incorporating F atoms in the first solvation shell, the weak F–Li+ coordination facilitates the Li plating/stripping process with Coulombic efficiency (CE) up to 99.7% and exchange current density one magnitude larger than O–Li+ coordination at −50 °C. The electrolytes further enable the operation of lithium-metal pouch cells under an electrolyte amount of less than 0.5 g Ah−1, achieving energy densities greater than 700 Wh kg−1 at room temperature and about 400 Wh kg−1 at −50 °C. The hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) electrolytes in this work provide a feasible approach to building electrochemical systems beyond traditional coordination chemistry.

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Fig. 1: Design principle and characteristics of HFCs as electrolyte solvents.

Fig. 2: Solvation structure characterizations and ion transport mechanism of electrolytes.

Fig. 3: Li-metal plating/stripping and corresponding SEI characterizations.

Fig. 4: Electrochemical performance of energy-dense LMBs at various temperatures.

Fig. 5: Extending HFC electrolytes to wide-temperature LMBs.

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[Original source](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10210-6)