Mixing, Domains, and Fast Li-ion Dynamics in Ternary Li-Sb-Bi Battery Anode Alloys

Antimony and bismuth can both alloy with up to three molar equivalents of lithium and are therefore attractive candidates for replacing graphite in Li-ion battery anodes. Li3Sb and Li3Bi have the same cubic structure (Fm3 ̅m), but the ternary Li-Sb-Bi system has not been studied. We synthesized Li3(SbxBi1-x) with different Sb mole fractions at room temperature by ball-milling. These ternary alloys all have cubic crystal structures, as determined by XRD, but show a tendency towards phase segregation for x = 0.25 and 0.50. For x = 0.25, the lattice parameter presents a clear positive deviation from Vegard’s law in XRD, while for x = 0.50, XRD reveals two phases after milling, with the Bi-rich minority phase diminishing after thermal annealing. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy provides evidence for a Sb-enriched environment around the Li atoms for Li3Sb0.25Bi0.75, and nuclear spin-lattice relaxation measurements of the binary and ternary alloy phases point to low activation energies and rapid Li ion diffusion in Li3Bi.