Solutions are ubiquitous, from daily chemical production to cutting-edge battery technology. Their internal microstructure directly determines key indicators， such as conductivity and reaction speed. Especially in the field of batteries, the performance of the electrolyte, as the "blood" of the battery, directly affects the charging speed and service life. Although various high-performance electrolytes have been developed in current research fields, theoretical research has long lagged behind, making the R&D process like "looking for a needle in a haystack", seriously restricting the development and innovation of electrolytes.
Recently, Professor Li Feng and Yang Huicong from the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Professor Cheng Hui-Ming from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, started from the principle of thermodynamic equilibrium and proposed a new thermodynamic theory, revealing the underlying laws of electrolyte design in battery electrolytes. In the microscopic world of electrolytes, there exist two key "competitive relationships": one is the energy competition (enthalpy) between different chemical bonds, and the other is the competitive balance between the system's energy (enthalpy) and disorder (entropy). These two competitive relationships determine the dissolution of solutes and the formation of solvation structures. This thermodynamic competitive equilibrium theory can well explain the basic principles of various existing advanced electrolyte systems and will guide the research and application of more advanced multifunctional electrolytes in the future.