Effect of standard light illumination on electrolyte’s stability of lithium-ion batteries based on ethylene and di-methyl carbonates

Combining energy conversion and storage at a device and/or at a molecular level constitutes a new research field raising interest. This work aims at investigating how prolonged standard light exposure (A.M. 1.5G) interacts with conventional batteries electrolyte, commonly used in the photo-assisted or photo-rechargeable batteries, based on 1 mol.L⁻¹ LiPF₆ EC/DMC electrolyte. We demonstrate the intrinsic chemical robustness of this class of electrolyte in absence of any photo-electrodes. However, based on different steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, it is for the first time highlighted that the solvation of lithium and hexafluorophosphate ions by the carbonates are modified by light exposure leading to absorbance and ionic conductivity modifications without detrimental effects onto the electrochemical properties.