Reconsideration of SEI stability: reversible lithium intercalation into graphite electrodes in trans-2,3-butylene carbonate

Lithium ion batteries with graphitic carbon anodes and LiCoO2 cathodes are cycled reversibly in electrolytes based on trans-2,3-butylene carbonate (t-BC), even in the absence of ethylene carbonate. While the poor interfacial film (the solid electrolyte interface (SEI)) on the lithium electrode can be readily explained in terms of previous models of its stability, this highly reversible behavior of graphite is hard to account for. To explain this profound difference in the SEI stability of the two electrodes, we have taken into account the influence that the nature of the electrode (lithium metal versus graphite) and the type of the reaction site (basal plane versus edge sites) exert on the solvent reduction pathways.