Three symmetric substances originating from triethyl phosphate were specifically synthesized with varying degree of fluorination at the side chain. Different concentrations of each phosphate were evaluated as co-solvent with regard to their flammability and the electrochemical cycling performance. With higher degree of fluorination and a higher amount of the phosphate in the electrolyte, the self-extinguishing time (SET), a value to determine and compare the flammability of electrolytes, could be significantly lowered to yield a non-flammable electrolyte mixture. A specifically designed SET device is introduced, which offers more accurate results due to lowered standard deviations by minimizing random and systematic errors. As the application of phosphates as co-solvents results in a trade-off in cycling performance, a thorough determination in regard to the ionic conductivity, the anodic oxidation stability and the compatibility with anode and cathode material was carried out in half-and full-cells. The manuscript strives to establish a deeper understanding of the influence that the utilization of phosphates as co-solvents entail with special focus on the fluorination degree. It could be shown that the partially fluorinated phosphate offers the best cycling results and therefore the lowest trade-off in performance, while a severe improvement in SET could be achieved compared to the reference electrolyte. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.