Role of electrolyte in silicon electrolyte interface stabilization

Transition metal ion dissolution was long thought to be the reason for poor cycling performance in Lithium ion batteries cycled to a high voltage, but since the anode SEI is electrochemically insulating, the mechanism for transition metal mediated SEI decomposition in unclear. Our results show that acidic species such as F2PO2H generation on the cathode side and their subsequent crossover reactions with the SEI components damaging it could more likely be a major factor to capacity fade.