Li3N-Modified Garnet Electrolyte for All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries Operated at 40 °C

Henghui Xu; Yutao Li; Aijun Zhou; Nan Wu; Sen Xin; Zongyao Li; John B Goodenough

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b03902

Li₃N-Modified Garnet Electrolyte for All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries Operated at 40 °C

Nano Lett. 2018 Nov 14;18(11):7414-7418. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b03902. Epub 2018 Oct 24.

Authors

Henghui Xu¹, Yutao Li¹, Aijun Zhou¹, Nan Wu¹, Sen Xin¹, Zongyao Li¹, John B Goodenough¹

Affiliation

¹ Materials Science and Engineering Program and Texas Materials Institute , The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas 78712 , United States.

PMID: 30352159
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b03902

Abstract

Lithium carbonate on the surface of garnet blocks Li⁺ conduction and causes a huge interfacial resistance between the garnet and electrode. To solve this problem, this study presents an effective strategy to reduce significantly the interfacial resistance by replacing Li₂CO₃ with Li ion conducting Li₃N. Compared to the surface Li₂CO₃ on garnet, Li₃N is not only a good Li⁺ conductor but also offers a good wettability with both the garnet surface and a lithium metal anode. In addition, the introduction of a Li₃N layer not only enables a stable contact between the Li anode and garnet electrolyte but also prevents the direct reduction of garnet by Li metal over a long cycle life. As a result, a symmetric lithium cell with this Li₃N-modified garnet exhibits an ultralow overpotential and stable plating/stripping cyclability without lithium dendrite growth at room temperature. Moreover, an all-solid-state Li/LiFePO₄ battery with a Li₃N-modified garnet also displays high cycling efficiency and stability over 300 cycles even at a temperature of 40 °C.

Keywords: Interfacial resistance; garnet; lithium nitride; solid-state batteries.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.