Wide-Temperature Electrolyte Design for Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

Electrochemical energy storage devices—including lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, aqueous batteries, and supercapacitors—have become indispensable in modern society, powering everything from portable electronics to electric vehicles and grid-scale storage. However, their practical deployment across diverse geographical and climatic regions remains severely constrained by performance degradation under extreme temperatures. At sub-zero temperatures, conventional electrolytes suffer from increased viscosity, reduced ionic conductivity, and sluggish charge-transfer kinetics. In severe cases, the electrolyte may even freeze, leading to catastrophic capacity loss. Conversely, elevated temperatures accelerate parasitic side reactions, electrolyte decomposition, interfacial instability, and increase the risk of thermal runaway. Recently, despite significant progress in electrolyte optimization, achieving a rational design that maintains high performance over a wide temperature window remains a formidable challenge. This Research Topic aims to consolidate cutting-edge advances in electrolyte engineering that effectively mitigate the thermal constraints on ion transport and interfacial stability.This Research Topic seeks to bring together pioneering advances in the fundamental understanding and rational design of electrolytes that enable stable, long-term operation of electrochemical energy storage devices across a broad temperature spectrum. We aim to move beyond empirical approaches and foster a mechanistic understanding of how electrolyte components—solvents, salts, additives, and polymer matrices—collectively govern electrochemical behavior under extreme conditions. By elucidating the complex interplay between electrolyte chemistry, interfacial dynamics, and temperature-dependent charge storage mechanisms, this collection aspires to establish robust design principles for next-generation electrolytes. The ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between laboratory-scale innovations and practical implementation, thereby accelerating the industrialization of high-safety, durable energy storage systems capable of reliable operation in diverse environmental conditions.We invite contributions addressing all aspects of wide-temperature electrolyte design for electrochemical energy storage devices. Specific themes of interest include, but are not limited to:• Novel electrolyte formulations (aqueous, non-aqueous, ionic liquids, solid/gel-state) with extended operating temperature ranges.• Fundamental studies on temperature-dependent ion transport, solvation structures, and electrode–electrolyte interphases.• Advanced characterization techniques (in-situ/operando) for probing electrochemical behavior of electrolytes across extreme temperature ranges.• Computational modeling and machine learning approaches for predicting electrolyte properties across a wide temperature range.• Device-level performance evaluation and failure analysis under extreme temperatures. Topic editors: Jianghe Liu, Zeba Khanam, Zhouyang Jiang, Shenhua Song Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83675/wide-temperature-electrolyte-design-for-electrochemical-energy-storage-devices