A cost-effective and humidity-tolerant chloride solid electrolyte for lithium batteries.

Wang, Kai; Ren, Qingyong; Gu, Zhenqi; Duan, Chaomin; Wang, Jinzhu; Zhu, Feng; Fu, Yuanyuan; Hao, Jipeng et al. · Nat Commun · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Li-ion-conducting chloride solid electrolytes receive considerable attention due to their physicochemical characteristics such as high ionic conductivity, deformability and oxidative stability. However, the raw materials are expensive, and large-scale use of this class of inorganic superionic conductors seems unlikely. Here, a cost-effective chloride solid electrolyte, Li<sub>2</sub>ZrCl<sub>6</sub>, is reported. Its raw materials are several orders of magnitude cheaper than those for the state-of-the-art chloride solid electrolytes, but high ionic conductivity (0.81 mS cm<sup>-1</sup> at room temperature), deformability, and compatibility with 4V-class cathodes are still simultaneously achieved in Li<sub>2</sub>ZrCl<sub>6</sub>. Moreover, Li<sub>2</sub>ZrCl<sub>6</sub> demonstrates a humidity tolerance with no sign of moisture uptake or conductivity degradation after exposure to an atmosphere with 5% relative humidity. By combining Li<sub>2</sub>ZrCl<sub>6</sub> with the Li-In anode and the single-crystal LiNi<sub>0.8</sub>Mn<sub>0.1</sub>Co<sub>0.1</sub>O<sub>2</sub> cathode, we report a room-temperature all-solid-state cell with a stable specific capacity of about 150 mAh g<sup>-1</sup> for 200 cycles at 200 mA g<sup>-1</sup>.