scholarly journals On the Local Charge Inhomogeneity and Lithium Distribution in the Superionic Argyrodites Li6PS5X (X = Cl, Br, I)

Author(s):  
Nicolo Minafra ◽  
Marvin Kraft ◽  
Tim Bernges ◽  
Cheng Li ◽  
Roman Schlem ◽  
...  

The lithium-argyrodites Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i> (<i>X</i> = Cl, Br, I) exhibit high lithium-ion conductivities, making them promising candidates for use in solid-state batteries. These solid electrolytes can show considerable substitutional <i>X</i><sup>−</sup>/S<sup>2−</sup> anion-disorder, with greater disorder typically correlated with higher lithium-ion conductivities. The atomic-scale effects of this anion site-disorder within the host lattice—in particular how lattice disorder modulates the lithium substructure—are not well understood. Here, we characterize the lithium substructure in Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i> (<i>X </i>= Cl, Br, I) as a function of temperature and anion site-disorder, using Rietveld refinements against temperature-dependent neutron diffraction data. Analysis of these high-resolution diffraction data reveals an additional lithium position previously unreported for Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i>argyrodites, suggesting that the lithium conduction pathway in these materials differs from the most common model proposed in earlier studies. Analysis of the Li<sup>+</sup> positions and their radial distributions reveals that greater inhomogeneityof the local anionic charge, due to <i>X</i><sup>−</sup>/S<sup>2−</sup> site-disorder, is associated with more spatially-diffuse lithium distributions. This observed coupling of site-disorder and lithium distribution provides a possible explanation for the enhanced lithium transport in anion-disordered lithium argyrodites, and highlights the complex interplay between anion configuration and lithium substructure in this family of superionic conductors.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolo Minafra ◽  
Marvin Kraft ◽  
Tim Bernges ◽  
Cheng Li ◽  
Roman Schlem ◽  
...  

The lithium-argyrodites Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i> (<i>X</i> = Cl, Br, I) exhibit high lithium-ion conductivities, making them promising candidates for use in solid-state batteries. These solid electrolytes can show considerable substitutional <i>X</i><sup>−</sup>/S<sup>2−</sup> anion-disorder, with greater disorder typically correlated with higher lithium-ion conductivities. The atomic-scale effects of this anion site-disorder within the host lattice—in particular how lattice disorder modulates the lithium substructure—are not well understood. Here, we characterize the lithium substructure in Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i> (<i>X </i>= Cl, Br, I) as a function of temperature and anion site-disorder, using Rietveld refinements against temperature-dependent neutron diffraction data. Analysis of these high-resolution diffraction data reveals an additional lithium position previously unreported for Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i>argyrodites, suggesting that the lithium conduction pathway in these materials differs from the most common model proposed in earlier studies. Analysis of the Li<sup>+</sup> positions and their radial distributions reveals that greater inhomogeneityof the local anionic charge, due to <i>X</i><sup>−</sup>/S<sup>2−</sup> site-disorder, is associated with more spatially-diffuse lithium distributions. This observed coupling of site-disorder and lithium distribution provides a possible explanation for the enhanced lithium transport in anion-disordered lithium argyrodites, and highlights the complex interplay between anion configuration and lithium substructure in this family of superionic conductors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolo Minafra ◽  
Marvin Kraft ◽  
Tim Bernges ◽  
Cheng Li ◽  
Roman Schlem ◽  
...  

The lithium-argyrodites Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i> (<i>X</i> = Cl, Br, I) exhibit high lithium-ion conductivities, making them promising candidates for use in solid-state batteries. These solid electrolytes can show considerable substitutional <i>X</i><sup>−</sup>/S<sup>2−</sup> anion-disorder, with greater disorder typically correlated with higher lithium-ion conductivities. The atomic-scale effects of this anion site-disorder within the host lattice—in particular how lattice disorder modulates the lithium substructure—are not well understood. Here, we characterize the lithium substructure in Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i> (<i>X </i>= Cl, Br, I) as a function of temperature and anion site-disorder, using Rietveld refinements against temperature-dependent neutron diffraction data. Analysis of these high-resolution diffraction data reveals an additional lithium position previously unreported for Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub><i>X</i>argyrodites, suggesting that the lithium conduction pathway in these materials differs from the most common model proposed in earlier studies. Analysis of the Li<sup>+</sup> positions and their radial distributions reveals that greater inhomogeneityof the local anionic charge, due to <i>X</i><sup>−</sup>/S<sup>2−</sup> site-disorder, is associated with more spatially-diffuse lithium distributions. This observed coupling of site-disorder and lithium distribution provides a possible explanation for the enhanced lithium transport in anion-disordered lithium argyrodites, and highlights the complex interplay between anion configuration and lithium substructure in this family of superionic conductors.


Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Q. Meng ◽  
Q. H. Zhang ◽  
A. Gao ◽  
X. Z. Liu ◽  
J. N. Zhang ◽  
...  

The ion migration during electrochemical process is a fundamental scientific issue for phase transition behavior and of technical importance for various functional devices, where cations or anions are active under electrical bias. Usually only one type of functional ion, O2- or Li+, is activated due to their different migration energy barriers, cooperated by the valence change of other immobile ions in the host lattice matrix, e.g., Co2+/Co3+ and Mn3+/Mn4+ redox couples, owing to the charge neutralization. Here we select spinel Li4Ti5O12 as anode and construct an all-solid-state battery under a transmission electron microscope; a synergistic transportation of O2- and Li+ driven by an electrical bias was directly observed at the atomic scale. A small amount of oxygen anions was extracted firstly as a result of its lowest vacancy formation energy under 2.2 V, leading to the vertical displacement of oxygen. Up to 2.7 V, an ordered phase with both Li- and O- deficiency formed. The Li+ and O2- ions are simultaneously extracted out from the [LiO4] tetrahedra due to the electroneutrality principle. The migration paths of O and Li have been proposed and verified by first-principles calculations. These results reveal a brand new synergistic ion migration manner and may provide up-to-date insights on the transportation process of lithium ion conductors.


Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
F. Q. Meng ◽  
Q. H. Zhang ◽  
A. Gao ◽  
X. Z. Liu ◽  
J. N. Zhang ◽  
...  

The ion migration during electrochemical process is a fundamental scientific issue for phase transition behavior and of technical importance for various functional devices, where cations or anions are active under electrical bias. Usually only one type of functional ion, O2- or Li+, is activated due to their different migration energy barriers, cooperated by the valence change of other immobile ions in the host lattice matrix, e.g., Co2+/Co3+ and Mn3+/Mn4+ redox couples, owing to the charge neutralization. Here we select spinel Li4Ti5O12 as anode and construct an all-solid-state battery under a transmission electron microscope; a synergistic transportation of O2- and Li+ driven by an electrical bias was directly observed at the atomic scale. A small amount of oxygen anions was extracted firstly as a result of its lowest vacancy formation energy under 2.2 V, leading to the vertical displacement of oxygen. Up to 2.7 V, an ordered phase with both Li- and O- deficiency formed. The Li+ and O2- ions are simultaneously extracted out from the [LiO4] tetrahedra due to the electroneutrality principle. The migration paths of O and Li have been proposed and verified by first-principles calculations. These results reveal a brand new synergistic ion migration manner and may provide up-to-date insights on the transportation process of lithium ion conductors.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay Gautam ◽  
Marcel Sadowski ◽  
Nils Prinz ◽  
Henrik Eickhoff ◽  
Nicolo Minafra ◽  
...  

<p>Lithium argyrodite superionic conductors are currently being investigated as solid electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries. Recently, in the lithium argyrodite Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub>X (X = Cl, Br, I), a site-disorder between the anionsS<sup>2–</sup>and X<sup>–</sup>has been observed, which strongly affects the ionic transport and appears to be a function of the halide present. In this work, we show how such disorder in Li<sub>6</sub>PS<sub>5</sub>Br can be engineered <i>via</i>the synthesis method. By comparing fast cooling (<i>i.e. </i>quenching) to more slowly cooled samples, we find that anion site-disorder is higher at elevated temperatures, and that fast cooling can be used to kinetically trap the desired disorder, leading to higher ionic conductivities as shown by impedance spectroscopy in combination with <i>ab-initio</i>molecular dynamics. Furthermore, we observe that after milling, a crystalline lithium argyrodite can be obtained within one minute of heat treatment. This rapid crystallization highlights the reactive nature of mechanical milling and shows that long reaction times with high energy consumption are not needed in this class of materials. The fact that site-disorder induced <i>via</i>quenching is beneficial for ionic transport provides an additional approach for the optimization and design of lithium superionic conductors.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuhong Wang ◽  
Koutarou Aoyagi ◽  
Muratahan Aykol ◽  
Tim Mueller

The development of all-solid-state lithium ion batteries has been hindered by the formation of a poorly conductive interphase at the interface between electrode and electrolyte materials. In the manuscript, we shed light on this problem by computationally evaluating potential lithium ion diffusion pathways through metastable arrangements of product phases that can form at 56 interfaces between common electrode and electrolyte materials. The evaluation of lithium-ion conductivities in the product phases is made possible by the use of machine-learned interatomic potentials trained on the fly. We identify likely reasons for the degradation of solid-state battery performance and discuss how these problems could be mitigated. These results provide enhanced understanding of how interface impedance growth limits the performance of all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. 2540-2546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linze Li ◽  
Jianguo Yu ◽  
Devendrasinh Darbar ◽  
Ethan C. Self ◽  
Donghai Wang ◽  
...  

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