Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (7): 100201.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2025.100201

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

MOF-encapsulated phosphorus/nitrogen ionic liquid as a multifunctional flame-retardant additive for high-safety lithium-ion batteries

Hua Yu1,2, Dingdu Chen3, Xuan Wang1, Lijun Yang2, Geming Wang3,*(), Pu Hu3,*()   

  1. 1 Shanxi Electric Power Research Institute, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi Province, China
    2 School of Electrical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Power Transmission Equipment Technology, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
    3 Provincial Key Laboratory of Plasma Chemistry and Advanced Materials, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430073, Hubei Province, China
  • Received:2025-09-08 Revised:2025-10-16 Accepted:2025-10-16 Published:2026-05-22
  • Contact: Email: wanggemingwit@163.com (Geming Wang)puhu@wit.edu.cn (Pu Hu)

Abstract:

Safety concerns arising from the flammability of alkyl carbonate-based electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries highlight the urgent need for advanced flame-retardant systems. Herein, we propose a novel electrolyte additive strategy by encapsulating phosphorus/nitrogen-containing ionic liquids (P/N-ILs) within a metal-organic framework (MOF). The resulting P/N-ILs@MOF composite exhibits high porosity and structural stability, effectively preventing P/N-ILs aggregation while maintaining synergistic flame-retardant functions of phosphorus for radical scavenging and nitrogen for gas dilution. Electrolytes containing 5 wt% P/N-ILs@MOF (MIE-5) achieve a 90% reduction in self-extinguishing time and an increased limiting oxygen index of 32%. Electrochemical testing demonstrates that MIE-5 delivers excellent cycling stability, retaining 84.5% capacity after 300 cycles in Li|MIE-5|LiFePPO4 cells. Moreover, a 10 Ah graphite|MIE-5|LiFePPO4 pouch cell with MIE-5 maintains 97.7% capacity after 280 cycles at 1C and retains 94.9% of its 0.2C capacity at 2C. This study introduces a new paradigm for integrating flame retardancy with electrochemical performance via MOF-encapsulation, offering significant potential for next-generation safe and durable lithium-ion batteries.

Key words: Lithium-ion batteries, Flame-retardant electrolyte, Metal-organic framework, Ionic liquid, Safety