Diphenylamine: A safety electrolyte additive for reversible overcharge protection of 3.6 V-class lithium ion batteries

A polymerizable monomer, diphenylamine (DPAn), is reported to act as a safety electrolyte additive for overcharge protection of 3.6 V-class lithium ion batteries. The experimental results demonstrated that the DPAn monomer could be electro-polymerized to form a conductive polymer bridging between the cathode and anode of the battery, and to produce an internal current bypass to prevent the batteries from voltage runaway during overcharge. The charge–discharge tests of practical LiFePO4/C batteries indicated that the DPAn additive could clamp the cell's voltage at the safe value less than 3.7 V even at the high rate overcharge of 3 C current, meanwhile, this monomer molecule has no significant impact on the charge–discharge performance of the batteries at normal charge–discharge condition.