Understanding the underlying chemistry of thiophosphates in solution is a prerequisite for solution-based syntheses of lithium thiophosphate superionic conductors.
In recent years, ternary halides Li3MX6 (M = Y, Er, In; X = Cl, Br, I) have garnered attention as solid electrolytes due to their wide electrochemical stability window and favorable roomtemperature conductivities. In this material class, the influences of iso-or aliovalent substitutions are so far rarely studied in-depth, despite this being a common tool for correlating structure and transport properties. In this work, we investigate the impact of Zr substitution on the structure and ionic conductivity of Li3InCl6 (Li3-xIn1-xZrxCl6 with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) using a combination of neutron diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance and impedance spectroscopy.Analysis of high-resolution diffraction data shows the presence of an additional tetrahedrally coordinated lithium position together with cation site-disorder, both of which have not been reported previously for Li3InCl6. This Li + position and cation disorder lead to the formation of a three-dimensional lithium ion diffusion channel, instead of the expected two-dimensional diffusion. Upon Zr 4+ substitution, the structure exhibits non-uniform volume changes along with an increasing number of vacancies, all of which lead to an increasing ionic conductivity in this series of solid solutions.
With growing interest in solution‐based processing of electrolytes for all‐solid‐state batteries comes the need to more deeply understand potential detrimental effects of the solvent on electrolyte materials, as well as effects on the cell performance that may not have been evident by structural characterization alone. Herein, the superionic solid electrolyte Li6PS5Cl is treated with five organic solvents selected for a range of different physical and chemical properties. The electrolytes treated with solvents that do not lead to obvious degradation are used in cathode composites of solid‐state batteries In/LiIn│Li6PS5Cl│NCM‐622:Li6PS5Cl. After treatment in some solvents, the solid electrolyte remains seemingly unaffected, but a strong influence on the solid‐state battery performance is observed, revealing underlying effects that warrant deeper study.
Halide‐based solid electrolytes are currently growing in interest in solid‐state batteries due to their high electrochemical stability window compared to sulfide electrolytes. However, often a bilayer separator of a sulfide and a halide is used and it is unclear why such setup is necessary, besides the instability of the halides against lithium metal. It is shown that an electrolyte bilayer improves the capacity retention as it suppresses interfacial resistance growth monitored by impedance spectroscopy. By using in‐depth analytical characterization of buried interphases by time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy analyses, an indium‐sulfide rich region is detected at the halide and sulfide contact area, visualizing the chemical incompatibility of these two electrolytes. The results highlight the need to consider more than just the electrochemical stability of electrolyte materials, showing that chemical compatibility of all components may be paramount when using halide‐based solid electrolytes in solid‐state batteries.
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