Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

A study of the anodic oxidation of vinyl ethylene carbonate (VEC) was conducted with post-mortem analysis of reaction products by ATR-FTIR and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The half-wave potential (E1/2) for oxidation of VEC is ca. 3.6 V producing a resistive film on the electrode surface. GPC analysis of the film on a gold electrode produced by anodization of a commercial Li-ion battery electrolyte containing 2 percent VEC at 4.1 V showed the presence of a high molecular weight polymer. IR analysis indicated polycarbonate with alkyl carbonate rings linked by aliphatic methylene and methyl branches.