Abuse‐Tolerant Electrolytes for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Safety issues currently limit the development of advanced lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and this is exacerbated when they are misused or abused. The addition of small amounts of fillers or additives into common liquid electrolytes can greatly improve resistance to abuse without impairing electrochemical performance. This review discusses the recent progress in such abuse‐tolerant electrolytes. It covers electrolytes with shear thickening properties for tolerating mechanical abuse, electrolytes with redox shuttle additives for suppressing electrochemical abuse, and electrolytes with flame‐retardant additives for resisting thermal abuse. It aims to provide insights into the functioning of such electrolytes and the understanding of electrolyte composition‐property relationship. Future perspectives, challenges, and opportunities towards practical applications are also presented. The addition of fillers/additives into liquid electrolytes has enabled the abuse‐resistant properties towards safe lithium‐ion batteries. This review presents three types of electrolytes that can provide the protection against the commonly encountered abuses, including shear thickening electrolytes to tolerate mechanical abuse, redox shuttle additive‐based electrolytes to suppress electrochemical abuse, and flame‐retardant additive based electrolytes to resist thermal abuse.