Researchers identify how a common additive gives lithium-ion batteries a boost

Nitriles—an organic compound with a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom—are commonly added to the electrolyte formula for batteries using a lithium cobalt oxide cathode, making such batteries come much closer to realizing their full theoretical performance. Until now, battery researchers have not really understood why these nitriles work in this way. But a group of electrochemists have used advanced microscopy techniques to take a closer look at what happens at the molecular scale and identified what is going on, opening up new avenues for even further battery performance improvements.