Structural regulation of halide superionic conductors for all-solid-state lithium batteries

Xiaona Li; Jung Tae Kim; Jing Luo; Changtai Zhao; Yang Xu; Tao Mei; Ruying Li; Jianwen Liang; Xueliang Sun

doi:10.1038/s41467-023-43886-9

Structural regulation of halide superionic conductors for all-solid-state lithium batteries

Nat Commun. 2024 Jan 2;15(1):53. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43886-9.

Authors

Xiaona Li^{1

2}, Jung Tae Kim², Jing Luo², Changtai Zhao³, Yang Xu^{3

4}, Tao Mei⁴, Ruying Li², Jianwen Liang^{5

6}, Xueliang Sun⁷

Affiliations

¹ Eastern Institute for Advanced Study, Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315200, P. R. China.
² Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada.
³ Solid State Batteries Research Center, GRINM (Guangdong) Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, Foshan, Guangdong, 528051, P. R. China.
⁴ School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, P. R. China.
⁵ Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada. [email protected].
⁶ Solid State Batteries Research Center, GRINM (Guangdong) Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, Foshan, Guangdong, 528051, P. R. China. [email protected].
⁷ Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St, London, Ontario, N6A 3K7, Canada. [email protected].

Abstract

Metal halide solid-state electrolytes have gained widespread attention due to their high ionic conductivities, wide electrochemical stability windows, and good compatibility with oxide cathode materials. The exploration of highly ionic conductive halide electrolytes is actively ongoing. Thus, understanding the relationship between composition and crystal structure can be a critical guide for designing better halide electrolytes, which still remains obscure for reliable prediction. Here we show that the cationic polarization factor, which describes the geometric and ionic conditions, is effective in predicting the stacking structure of halide electrolytes formation. By supplementing this principle with rational design and preparation of more than 10 lithium halide electrolytes with high conductivity over 10^-3 S cm^-1 at 25 °C, we establish that there should be a variety of promising halide electrolytes that have yet to be discovered and developed. This methodology may enable the systematic screening of various potential halide electrolytes and demonstrate an approach to the design of halide electrolytes with superionic conductivity beyond the structure and stability predictions.