The Importance of Electrolytes to Batteries

A battery consists of different components and electrolytes are one of the key components that helps the battery to get recharged. Yes, with the help of electrolytes, the ions/current runs from one electrode to the other one. While the current is moving from the anode to the cathode and then back to the anode, your battery gets recharged. Without the right electrolyte, the battery can't be recharged. 

So, you can call the electrolytes the main component of the battery, and it is necessary to choose the right electrolyte, but that would be a topic for another time. Right now, it is more important that you understand the reason for the presence of an electrolyte inside the battery and its significance. 

Significance

The ions move from the anode to the cathode and back to the anode inside the battery to recharge it. The anode and cathode are the two electrodes of the battery, and surely, they are an important part of the whole battery structure, but without the electrolyte, the ion won't be able to move between the two electrodes. For the ion's movement, it is necessary to have electrolytes inside the battery that will help the ions to move and control their movement as well. 

Electrolytes give a push to ions.

Ions inside the battery would require electrical energy so that they would move back and forth between the two electrodes. Without the push, the ions won't be able to move, and they get their electrical energy through the electrolytes. First, the electrons will move to the cathode and get negatively charged, and then they will move towards the anode and get positively charged. With the movement of ions, an oxidation-reduction reaction gets activated.

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The movement of ions will keep going, and this is how your battery will get recharged. So electrolytes surely hold great significance if we talk about the whole movement of ions taking place inside the battery. Without the right amount of electrical energy, the ions won't be able to move between the electrodes. Different types of batteries have different electrolytes, but without the electrolyte, it is impossible that your battery would get recharged.                                                        

Common Electrolytes

Not all types of batteries consist of the same electrolyte. Yes, every type of battery would have its right type of electrolyte that would help the ions to move between the anode and cathode. 

Till now, you might have understood the importance of the right type of electrolyte for the battery and how it helps your battery to get recharged. Here are a few common types of electrolytes that are mostly used in the manufacturing of different types of batteries:

1.Lithium Hexafluorophosphate

Lithium-ion batteries are literally ruling the world of batteries and they are getting famous for all the right reasons. Well, they are more resistant; you get more variety in lithium-ion batteries and choose the one that would work according to your requirements. The most common electrolyte that is used for lithium-ion batteries is a solution of lithium salt and that is lithium hexafluorophosphate.

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2.Non-aqueous Solution

There are commercial lithium-ion batteries available that would work perfectly for commercial usage, and for such batteries, the non-aqueous solution is used as an electrolyte. A mixture of ethylene carbonate (EC) with Dimethyl carbonate (DMC), diethyl carbonate (DEC), and propylene carbonate (PC) is quite a famous electrolyte solution for such batteries. 

3.Potassium Hydroxide

You might have heard about alkaline batteries. Well, they are famous for household battery requirements. The alkaline batteries must consist of an electrolyte with a pH value of above 7. Only then will the ions be able to move between the two electrodes and the battery will get recharged. So, for alkaline batteries, Potassium hydroxide is used as the electrolyte. 

4.Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4) With Distilled Water

Lead-acid batteries are quite old in the batteries industries, and still, they are quite a good option if you want to buy a battery in your budget. Sulfuric acid is the electrolyte that is used in lead-acid batteries. Basically, it plays an important role as a separator between the two electrodes so the charge between them doesn't collide and cause damage to the battery. 

Organic Electrolyte and Inorganic Electrolyte

As we have mentioned above different types of batteries consist of different types of electrolytes. Well, the electrolytes are also classified as organic and inorganic as well. The major difference between the organic and inorganic electrolytes is that the organic electrolyte consists of a carbon atom. At the same time, inorganic electrolyte doesn't have a carbon atom in their structure. 

Let's break down the two types of electrolytes in further detail so you will be able to understand them in a better way: 

Organic Electrolyte

Organic electrolytes are basically made up of earth-abundant molecules, and they consist of electrochemical properties such as chemical stability, more potential, and water stability; there is a possibility that they can get more tuned with the help of function-oriented molecular engineering.

In simple words, an organic electrolyte solution is a mixture of ionic liquid with an organic, neutral, and polar co-solvent. The most common types of organic electrolytes that get used in the batteries are propylene carbonate and acetonitrile. Organic electrolytes have a high dielectric constant, are more compatible with the two electrodes of the battery and come with low viscosity. 

Inorganic Electrolyte

The inorganic electrolyte is a totally solid-state electrolyte that is made up of an inorganic material in a glassy or crystalline state. A common example of an inorganic electrolyte is lithium aluminum chloride (LiAlCl4) dissolved in thionyl chloride. An inorganic electrolyte would serve the purpose of a positive active material in the battery. 

If you compare inorganic electrolytes with organic electrolytes then surely inorganic electrolytes are a better option because it is a safer option. There would be no worry about leakage of the electrolyte solution, and the battery won't catch fire. 

Final Words

Electrolytes are an important component of the battery, and without the electrolyte, your battery won't get recharged. Electrolytes are the main component that helps the ions to move between the two electrodes. They will balance the movement of ions between the electrolytes so the current will keep running back and forth between the anode and cathode. This is the mechanism by which your battery gets recharged.