An Air‐Stable and Li‐Metal‐Compatible Glass‐Ceramic Electrolyte enabling High‐Performance All‐Solid‐State Li Metal Batteries

• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202006577
• Publication Date: 2021-01-20T14:12:53Z
• Authors: Feipeng Zhao; Sandamini H. Alah...; Keegan Adair; Shumin Zhang; Wei Xia; Weihan Li; Chuang Yu; Renfei Feng; Yongfeng Hu; Jianwen Liang; Xiaoting Lin; Yang Zhao; Xiaofei Yang; Tsun‐Kong Sham; Huan Huang; Li Zhang; Shangqian Zhao; Shigang Lu; Yining Huang; Xueliang Sun
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 7. Clean energy; 3. Good health

AbstractThe development of all‐solid‐state Li metal batteries (ASSLMBs) has attracted significant attention due to their potential to maximize energy density and improved safety compared to the conventional liquid‐electrolyte‐based Li‐ion batteries. However, it is very challenging to fabricate an ideal solid‐state electrolyte (SSE) that simultaneously possesses high ionic conductivity, excellent air‐stability, and good Li metal compatibility. Herein, a new glass‐ceramic Li3.2P0.8Sn0.2S4 (gc‐Li3.2P0.8Sn0.2S4) SSE is synthesized to satisfy the aforementioned requirements, enabling high‐performance ASSLMBs at room temperature (RT). Compared with the conventional Li3PS4 glass‐ceramics, the present gc‐Li3.2P0.8Sn0.2S4 SSE with 12% amorphous content has an enlarged unit cell and a high Li+ ion concentration, which leads to 6.2‐times higher ionic conductivity (1.21 × 10−3 S cm−1 at RT) after a simple cold sintering process. The (P/Sn)S4 tetrahedron inside the gc‐Li3.2P0.8Sn0.2S4 SSE is verified to show a strong resistance toward reaction with H2O in 5%‐humidity air, demonstrating excellent air‐stability. Moreover, the gc‐Li3.2P0.8Sn0.2S4 SSE triggers the formation of Li–Sn alloys at the Li/SSE interface, serving as an essential component to stabilize the interface and deliver good electrochemical performance in both symmetric and full cells. The discovery of this gc‐Li3.2P0.8Sn0.2S4 superionic conductor enriches the choice of advanced SSEs and accelerates the commercialization of ASSLMBs.