Researchers and manufacturers use lithium nitrate in the synthesis of many lithium compounds. Our 99.999% lithium nitrate is well-suited as a reagent for solid-state syntheses of lithium metal oxides, especially where purity is of high importance, for example, when making products whose fundamental properties are under investigation.
Our 99.999% lithium nitrate is also well-suited for use as an additive to electrolytes in lithium-sulfur batteries and lithium metal batteries. Lithium nitrate can passivate the surface of lithium metal and suppress the redox shuttle of the dissolved lithium polysulfides on the lithium anode.
[1] In one study, the addition of 0.3 M LiNO
3 nearly doubled the gravimetric capacity of lithium-sulfide batteries.
[2] Another study found that the dissolution of 1 to 5 wt% LiNO
3 to the electrolyte suppressed growth of lithium dendrites and extended cycle lifetimes.
[3] Similarly beneficial effects of lithium nitrate as an additive have been observed with Li
2S cathodes
[4], carbon nanofiber-encapsulated sulfur cathodes
[5], cobalt sulfide (Co
3S
4) cathodes
[6], and polyacrylonitrile-sulfur composite cathodes
[7]. Even lithium metal anodes with LiNi
0.8Co
0.15Al
0.05O
2 (NCA) cathodes with LiNO
3 added to the electrolyte showed higher coulombic efficiencies and suppressed dendrite formation compared to the electrolyte without LiNO
3.
[8]