Solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) have attracted substantial attention for next-generation Li-metal batteries, but Li-filament propagation at high current densities remains a significant challenge. This study probes the coupled electrochemicalmorphological-mechanical evolution of Li-metal-Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 interfaces. Quantitative analysis of synchronized electrochemistry with operando video microscopy reveals new insights into the nature of Li propagation in SSEs. Several different filament morphologies are identified, demonstrating that a singular mechanism is insufficient to describe the complexity of Li propagation pathways. The dynamic evolution of the structures is characterized, which demonstrates the relationships between current density and propagation velocity, as well as reversibility of plated Li before short-circuit occurs. Under deep discharge, void formation and dewetting are directly observed, which are directly related to evolving overpotentials during stripping. Finally, similar Li penetration behavior is observed in glassy Li 3 PS 4 , demonstrating the relevance of the new insights to SSEs more generally.

The oxide known as LLZO, with nominal composition Li7La3Zr2O12, is a promising solid electrolyte for Li-based batteries due to its high Li-ion conductivity and chemical stability with respect to lithium. Solid electrolytes may also enable the use of metallic Li anodes by serving as a physical barrier that suppresses dendrite initiation and propagation during cycling. Prior linear elasticity models of the Li electrode/solid electrolyte interface suggest that the stability of this interface is highly dependent on the elastic properties of the solid separator. For example, dendritic suppression is predicted to be enhanced as the electrolyte’s shear modulus increases. In the present study a combination of first-principles calculations, acoustic impulse excitation measurements, and nanoindentation experiments are used to determine the elastic constants and moduli for high-conductivity LLZO compositions based on Al and Ta doping. The calculated and measured isotropic shear moduli are in good agreement and fall within the range of 56–61 GPa. These values are an order of magnitude larger than that for Li metal and far exceed the minimum value (∼8.5 GPa) believed to be necessary to suppress dendrite initiation. These data suggest that LLZO exhibits sufficient stiffness to warrant additional development as a solid electrolyte for Li batteries.

materials are a particularly promising class of solid electrolytes for all-solidstate lithium metal batteries, as they are predicted to have a wide electrochemical stability window, [5,6] can be synthesized with very high density (>97%) [7,8] and, through aliovalent doping, can achieve room temperature Li-ion conductivities as high as ≈1.0 mS cm −1 with negligible electronic conductivity. [9] However, significant fundamental issues remain unresolved for garnet-based all-solid-state batteries, including low accessible current densities, [10] the persistence of Li dendrite formation, [11,12] and perhaps most importantly, ambiguities as to whether the interfaces between LLZO and both Li metal [13,14] and high voltage oxide cathodes [15,16] are stable over extended cycling. Indeed, developing deep understanding of the intrinsic reactivity between solid electrolytes and relevant electrode materials is crucial to developing high voltage solidstate batteries with long lifetimes, as the presence of any significant (electro)chemical reactivity will ultimately lead to premature cell failure during extended cycling.Understanding interfacial stability is an especially challenging issue common to all solid-state battery systems due to the inability of many experimental techniques to adequately interrogate the chemical properties of buried interfaces. Such studies are further complicated when one or both materials at the interface are unstable to exposure to air, water, etc., as Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 (LLZO) garnet-based materials doped with Al, Nb, or Ta to stabilize the Li + -conductive cubic phase are a particularly promising class of solid electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries. Understanding of the intrinsic reactivity between solid electrolytes and relevant electrode materials is crucial to developing high voltage solid-state batteries with long lifetimes. Using a novel, surface science-based approach to characterize the intrinsic reactivity of the Li-solid electrolyte interface, it is determined that, surprisingly, some degree of Zr reduction takes place for all three dopant types, with the extent of reduction increasing as Ta < Nb < Al. Significant reduction of Nb also takes place for Nb-doped LLZO, with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of Li||Nb-LLZO||Li symmetric cells further revealing significant increases in impedance with time and suggesting that the Nb reduction propagates into the bulk. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that Nb-doped material shows a strong preference for Nb dopants toward the interface between LLZO and Li, while Ta does not exhibit a similar preference. EIS and DFT results, coupled with the observed reduction of Zr at the interface, are consistent with the formation of an "oxygen-deficient interphase" (ODI) layer whose structure determines the stability of the LLZO-Li interface.

No abstract

No abstract

The recent discovery of fast ion-conducting solid electrolytes could enable solid-state and other advanced battery chemistries with higher energy densities and enhanced safety. In addition to high ionic conductivity, a viable electrolyte should also exhibit an electrochemical window that is wide enough to suppress undesirable electronic transport (i.e., self-discharge and/ or short circuiting) arising from charge injection or extraction from the electrodes. Here, direct current chronoamperometry, alternating current electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and optical absorption band gap measurements are combined with first-principles calculations to systematically characterize the electrochemical window of the promising superionic conductor Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 (LLZO). Negligible electronic current was measured within LLZO for a wide range of voltages relevant for high-voltage cathodes. This auspicious behavior is consistent with both the large band gap (∼6 eV) predicted for LLZO and the absolute positions of its band edges. These features imply that a wide electrochemical window is an intrinsic property of LLZO, facilitating its use in next-generation batteries.

No abstract

Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) garnet-based oxides are a promising class of solid electrolytes used as the separator in all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs). While LLZO is considered to have a wide electrochemical stability window, its intrinsic stability in contact with lithium metal is not sufficiently well understood, and there is still a debate on the key question of whether LLZO does or does not form passivation layers before and during cycling. Utilizing both in situ and operando X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques, we reveal the presence of a kinetic barrier to the reduction of LLZO by Li metal, with the extent of oxygen-deficient interphase (ODI) formation depending sensitively on the energetics of Li metal arriving at the Li|LLZO interface. Despite the clear presence of a kinetic barrier to reduction, the electrochemical response of the Li|LLZO interface is unchanged by the presence of the ODI, indicating that ODI formation during electrochemical cycling does not hinder charge transfer across the Li|LLZO interface. Overall, these results reveal that the reactivity of LLZO with Li metal depends not only on the material properties of the adjoining phases (i.e., surface purity and active contact) and their resulting thermodynamic stability but also on the energy input at the interface and the resulting reaction kinetics. Furthermore, the presence of a kinetic barrier to reduction highlights the additional complexities governing the reactivity of solid-state interfaces in ASSBs and underscores the importance of operando characterization of interfacial stability to design more robust, high-performance protection strategies for solid electrolytes in contact with reactive electrodes.