ABSTRACT Accurate prediction of excited states in battery electrolytes is crucial for understanding photostability, oxidative stability, and degradation. We employ hybrid quantum‐classical algorithms–the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) for ground states and the quantum equation of motion (qEOM) for vertical singlet excitations to study , , LiFSI, and NaFSI. Compact active spaces from frontier orbitals were mapped to qubits and reduced via symmetry tapering and commuting‐group measurements to lower sampling cost. Within 10‐qubit models, VQE‐qEOM agrees closely with exact diagonalization, while sample‐based quantum diagonalization (SQD) in larger spaces recovers near‐exact (subspace‐FCI) energies. Spectra show clear anion‐cation trends within the VQE‐qEOM framework: salts have higher first‐excitation energies ( 13.2 eV) and a compact three‐state cluster at 12–13 eV, whereas FSI salts exhibit lower onsets (8–9 eV) with nearly degenerate and states and a higher separated by 1.3 eV. Independent TDDFT calculations yield systematically lower absolute excitation energies but reproduce the same anion‐ and cation‐dependent trends, confirming that the relative ordering and physical interpretation of the quantum results are robust. Replacing with narrows the gap by 0.4–0.8 eV per anion family. Converting to wavelengths places onsets in the deep UV ( 94 nm; 100 nm; LiFSI 141 nm; NaFSI 148 nm). Results for isolated species or embedded clusters are NISQ‐feasible, with solvent shifts incorporable via classical ‐solvation. Current quantum algorithms capture excitation trends, advancing electrolyte design.
Hossain et al. (2026) studied this question.