He, X. et al. The passivity of lithium electrodes in liquid electrolytes for secondary batteries. Nat. Rev. Mater. 6, 1036–1052 (2021).
Wan, H. L., Xu, J. J. & Wang, C. S. Designing electrolytes and interphases for high-energy lithium batteries. Nat. Rev. Chem. 8, 30–44 (2024).
Xu, K. Interfaces and interphases in batteries. J. Power Sources 559, 232652 (2023).
Jiao, S. et al. Stable cycling of high-voltage lithium metal batteries in ether electrolytes. Nat. Energy 3, 739–746 (2018).
Niu, C. et al. Balancing interfacial reactions to achieve long cycle life in high-energy lithium metal batteries. Nat. Energy 6, 723–732 (2021).
Ren, X. et al. Enabling high-voltage lithium-metal batteries under practical conditions. Joule 3, 1662–1676 (2019).
Yamada, Y., Wang, J., Ko, S., Watanabe, E. & Yamada, A. Advances and issues in developing salt-concentrated battery electrolytes. Nat. Energy 4, 269–280 (2019).
Chen, J. et al. Electrolyte solvation chemistry to construct an anion-tuned interphase for stable high-temperature lithium metal batteries. eScience 3, 100135 (2023).
Yang, Y., Yang, W., Yang, H. & Zhou, H. Electrolyte design principles for low-temperature lithium-ion batteries. eScience 3, 100170 (2023).
Choi, I. et al. Asymmetric ether solvents for high-rate lithium metal batteries. Nat. Energy 10, 365–379 (2025).
Li, A.-M. et al. Methylation enables the use of fluorine-free ether electrolytes in high-voltage lithium metal batteries. Nat. Chem. 16, 922–929 (2024).
Yu, Z. et al. Rational solvent molecule tuning for high-performance lithium metal battery electrolytes. Nat. Energy 7, 94–106 (2022).
Zhao, Y. et al. Fluorinated ether electrolyte with controlled solvation structure for high voltage lithium metal batteries. Nat. Commun. 13, 2575 (2022).
Zhao, Y., Zhou, T., Mensi, M., Choi, J. W. & Coskun, A. Electrolyte engineering via ether solvent fluorination for developing stable non-aqueous lithium metal batteries. Nat. Commun. 14, 299 (2023).
Wang, Y. Q. et al. Fluorination in advanced battery design. Nat. Rev. Mater. 9, 119–133 (2024).
Feng, G. X. et al. Imaging solid-electrolyte interphase dynamics using operando reflection interference microscopy. Nat. Nanotechnol. 18, 780–789 (2023).
Villevieille, C. The challenge of studying interfaces in battery materials. Nat. Nanotechnol. 20, 2–5 (2025).
Zhang, Y. X. et al. Operando characterization and regulation of metal dissolution and redeposition dynamics near battery electrode surface. Nat. Nanotechnol. 18, 790–797 (2023).
Wang, H. et al. Regulating interfacial structure enables high-voltage dilute ether electrolytes. Cell Rep. Phys. Sci. 3, 100919 (2022).
Zhang, S. Q. et al. Oscillatory solvation chemistry for a 500 Wh kg−1 Li-metal pouch cell. Nat. Energy 9, 1285–1296 (2024).
Zhang, W. et al. Engineering a passivating electric double layer for high performance lithium metal batteries. Nat. Commun. 13, 2029 (2022).
Li, W. et al. Non-sacrificial additive enables a non-passivating cathode interface for 4.6 V Li||LiCoO2 batteries. Adv. Energy Mater. 14, 2303458 (2024).
Pastor, E. et al. Complementary probes for the electrochemical interface. Nat. Rev. Chem. 8, 159–178 (2024).
Li, C. Y. et al. Observation of inhomogeneous plasmonic field distribution in a nanocavity. Nat. Nanotechnol. 15, 922–926 (2020).
Li, P. et al. Hydrogen bond network connectivity in the electric double layer dominates the kinetic pH effect in hydrogen electrocatalysis on Pt. Nat. Catal. 5, 900–911 (2022).
Wang, Y. H. et al. In situ Raman spectroscopy reveals the structure and dissociation of interfacial water. Nature 600, 81–85 (2021).
Zhang, Z. M. et al. Probing electrolyte effects on cation-enhanced CO2 reduction on copper in acidic media. Nat. Catal. 7, 807–817 (2024).
Li, J. et al. Molecular-scale CO spillover on a dual-site electrocatalyst enhances methanol production from CO2 reduction. Nat. Nanotechnol. 20, 515–522 (2025).
Ataka, K., Yotsuyanagi, T. & Osawa, M. Potential-dependent reorientation of water molecules at an electrode/electrolyte interface studied by surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy. J. Phys. Chem. 100, 10664–10672 (1996).
Gervillié-Mouravieff, C. et al. Unlocking cell chemistry evolution with operando fibre optic infrared spectroscopy in commercial Na(Li)-ion batteries. Nat. Energy 7, 1157–1169 (2022).
Luo, H. et al. Revealing the dynamic evolution of electrolyte configuration on the cathode-electrolyte interface by visualizing (de)solvation processes. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 63, e202412214 (2024).
He, X. et al. Self-assembled molecular layers as interfacial engineering nanomaterials in rechargeable battery applications. Small 20, 2403537 (2024).
Yi, R. W., Mao, Y. Y., Shen, Y. B. & Chen, L. W. Self-assembled monolayers for batteries. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 143, 12897–12912 (2021).
Tan, T., Lee, P.-K., Zettsu, N., Teshima, K. & Yu, D. Y. W. Highly stable lithium-ion battery anode with polyimide coating anchored onto micron-size silicon monoxide via self-assembled monolayer. J. Power Sources 453, 227874 (2020).
Liu, Y. J. et al. Self-assembled monolayers direct a LiF-rich interphase toward long-life lithium metal batteries. Science 375, 739–745 (2022).
Ulman, A. Formation and structure of self-assembled monolayers. Chem. Rev. 96, 1533–1554 (1996).
Ge, A. M. et al. Interfacial structure and electric field probed by in situ electrochemical vibrational Stark effect spectroscopy and computational modeling. J. Phys. Chem. C 121, 18674–18682 (2017).
Wright, D. et al. Mechanistic study of an immobilized molecular electrocatalyst by in situ gap-plasmon-assisted spectro-electrochemistry. Nat. Catal. 4, 157–163 (2021).
Romaner, L., Heimel, G., Ambrosch-Draxl, C. & Zojer, E. The dielectric constant of self-assembled monolayers. Adv. Funct. Mater. 18, 3999–4006 (2008).
Lu, H., Zeysing, D., Kind, M., Terfort, A. & Zharnikov, M. Structure of self-assembled monolayers of partially fluorinated alkanethiols with a fluorocarbon part of variable length on gold substrate. J. Phys. Chem. C 117, 18967–18979 (2013).
Chang, S.-C., Chao, I. & Tao, Y.-T. Structure of self-assembled monolayers of aromatic-derivatized thiols on evaporated gold and silver surfaces: implication on packing mechanism. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 116, 6792–6805 (1994).
Xie, Q. & Xu, X. G. What do different modes of AFM-IR mean for measuring soft matter surfaces? Langmuir 39, 17593–17599 (2023).
Amanchukwu, C. V. et al. A new class of ionically conducting fluorinated ether electrolytes with high electrochemical stability. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142, 7393–7403 (2020).
Sarkar, S., Patrow, J. G., Voegtle, M. J., Pennathur, A. K. & Dawlaty, J. M. Electrodes as polarizing functional groups: correlation between Hammett parameters and electrochemical polarization. J. Phys. Chem. C 123, 4926–4937 (2019).
Nie, Y. et al. Transmission-matrix quantitative phase profilometry for accurate and fast thickness mapping of 2D materials. ACS Photon. 10, 1084–1092 (2023).
Yan, F., Mukherjee, K., Maroncelli, M. & Kim, H. J. Infrared spectroscopy of Li+ solvation in diglyme: ab initio molecular dynamics and experiment. J. Phys. Chem. B 127, 9191–9203 (2023).
Gunasekara, I., Mukerjee, S., Plichta, E. J., Hendrickson, M. A. & Abraham, K. M. A study of the influence of lithium salt anions on oxygen reduction reactions in Li-air batteries. J. Electrochem. Soc. 162, A1055–A1066 (2015).
Li, J. T. et al. In situ microscope FTIR spectroscopic studies of interfacial reactions of Sn-Co alloy film anode of lithium ion battery. J. Electroanal. Chem. 649, 171–176 (2010).
Fried, S. D. & Boxer, S. G. Measuring electric fields and noncovalent interactions using the vibrational Stark effect. Acc. Chem. Res. 48, 998–1006 (2015).
Fica-Contreras, S. M., Charnay, A. P., Pan, J. & Fayer, M. D. Rethinking vibrational Stark spectroscopy: peak shifts, line widths, and the role of non-Stark solvent coupling. J. Phys. Chem. B 127, 717–731 (2023).
Schneider, S. H. & Boxer, S. G. Vibrational Stark effects of carbonyl probes applied to reinterpret IR and Raman data for enzyme inhibitors in terms of electric fields at the active site. J. Phys. Chem. B 120, 9672–9684 (2016).
Yang, J. et al. Solvent effects on structure and screening in confined electrolytes. Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 118201 (2023).
Zhang, Y. W., de Aguiar, H. B., Hynes, J. T. & Laage, D. Water structure, dynamics, and sum-frequency generation spectra at electrified graphene interfaces. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 11, 624–631 (2020).
Rakov, D. A. et al. Engineering high-energy-density sodium battery anodes for improved cycling with superconcentrated ionic-liquid electrolytes. Nat. Mater. 19, 1096–1101 (2020).
Gonella, G. et al. Water at charged interfaces. Nat. Rev. Chem. 5, 466–485 (2021).
Cassone, G. & Martelli, F. Electrofreezing of liquid water at ambient conditions. Nat. Commun. 15, 1856 (2024).
Wang, Z. et al. Constant-potential modeling of electrical double layers accounting for electron spillover. Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 046201 (2025).
Cave, E. A., Olson, J. Z. & Schlenker, C. W. Ion-pairing dynamics revealed by kinetically resolved in situ FTIR spectroelectrochemistry during lithium-ion storage. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 13, 48546–48554 (2021).
Lim, C. et al. Solvation structure around Li+ ions in organic carbonate electrolytes: spacer-free thin cell IR spectroscopy. Anal. Chem. 93, 12594–12601 (2021).
Liu, Q., Wu, F., Mu, D. & Wu, B. Comparative calculation on Li+ solvation in common organic electrolyte solvents for lithium ion batteries. Chin. Phys. B 29, 048202 (2020).
Rey, I. et al. Spectroscopic and theoretical study of (CF3SO2)2N− (TFSI−) and (CF3SO2)2NH (HTFSI). J. Phys. Chem. A 102, 3249–3258 (1998).
Cuesta, A. ATR-SEIRAS for time-resolved studies of electrode-electrolyte interfaces. Curr. Opin. Electrochem. 35, 101041 (2022).
Chen, Y. et al. Steric effect tuned ion solvation enabling stable cycling of high-voltage lithium metal battery. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 143, 18703–18713 (2021).
Kim, S. C. et al. High-entropy electrolytes for practical lithium metal batteries. Nat. Energy 8, 814–826 (2023).
Kwon, H. et al. Borate-pyran lean electrolyte-based Li-metal batteries with minimal Li corrosion. Nat. Energy 9, 57–69 (2024).
Zhang, Q. K. et al. Homogeneous and mechanically stable solid-electrolyte interphase enabled by trioxane-modulated electrolytes for lithium metal batteries. Nat. Energy 8, 725–735 (2023).
Frith, J. T., Lacey, M. J. & Ulissi, U. A non-academic perspective on the future of lithium-based batteries. Nat. Commun. 14, 420 (2023).
Scurtu, R. G. et al. From small batteries to big claims. Nat. Nanotechnol. 20, 970–976 (2025).
Tanimoto, S. & Ichimura, A. Discrimination of inner- and outer-sphere electrode reactions by cyclic voltammetry experiments. J. Chem. Educ. 90, 778–781 (2013).
Pang, L. et al. Hyphenated DEMS and ATR-SEIRAS techniques for in situ multidimensional analysis of lithium-ion batteries and beyond. J. Chem. Phys. 158, 174701 (2023).
Yanai, T., Tew, D. P. & Handy, N. C. A new hybrid exchange-correlation functional using the Coulomb-attenuating method (CAM-B3LYP). Chem. Phys. Lett. 393, 51–57 (2004).
