The correlation of the properties of pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquid electrolytes with the discharge–charge performances of rechargeable Li–O2 batteries

• Three pyrrolidinium-based ILs as electrolytes for Li–O2 batteries are investigated.
• The oxygen diffusion coefficient and pivotal properties of these ILs are measured.
• The battery performances with three IL electrolytes are analyzed and compared.
• The correlation of the IL properties with these performances is analyzed and explored.

Pyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids (ILs), such as PYR13TFSI, PYR14TFSI, and PYR1(2O1)TFSI, exhibit high thermal and electrochemical stability with wide electrochemical windows as electrolytes for application to rechargeable Li–O2 batteries. In this work, several fundamental properties of three ILs are measured: the ionic conductivity, oxygen solubility, and oxygen diffusion coefficient. The oxygen electro-reduction kinetics is characterized using cyclic voltammetry. The performances of Li–O2 batteries with these IL electrolytes are also investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic discharge–charge tests. The results demonstrate that the PYR1(2O1)TFSI electrolyte battery has a higher first-discharge voltage than the PYR13TFSI electrolyte and PYR14TFSI electrolyte batteries. Both PYR13TFSI- and PYR1(2O1)TFSI-based batteries exhibit higher first-discharge capacities and better cycling stabilities than the PYR14TFSI-based battery for 30 cycles. A theoretical analysis of the experimental results shows that the diffusion coefficient and solubility of oxygen in the electrolyte remarkably affect the discharge capacity and cycling stability of the batteries. Particularly, the oxygen diffusion coefficient of the IL electrolyte can effectively facilitate the electrochemical oxygen electro-reduction reaction and oxygen concentration distribution in the catalyst layers of air electrodes. The oxygen diffusion coefficient and oxygen solubility improvements of IL electrolytes can enhance the discharge–charge performances of Li–O2 batteries.