On the Location of Li(+) Cations in the Fast Li-Cation Conductor La(0.5)Li(0.5)TiO(3) Perovskite

Transient Ruddlesden-Popper-Type Defects and Their Influence on Grain Growth and Properties of Lithium Lanthanum Titanate Solid Electrolyte

Lithium lanthanum titanate (LLTO) perovskite is one of the most promising electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries, but its performance is limited by the presence of grain boundaries (GBs). The fraction of GBs can be significantly reduced by the preparation of coarse-grained LLTO ceramics. In this work, we describe an alternative approach to the fabrication of ceramics with large LLTO grains based on self-seeded grain growth. In compositions with the starting stoichiometry for the Li0.20La0.60TiO3 phase and with a high excess addition of Li (Li:La:Ti = 11:15:25), microstructure development starts with the formation of the layered RP-type Li2La2Ti3O10 phase. Grains with many RP-type defects initially develop into large platelets with thicknesses of up to 10 μm and lengths over 100 μm. Microstructure development continues with the crystallization of LLTO perovskite, epitaxially on the platelets and as smaller grains with thinner in-grain RP-lamellae. Theoretical calculations confirmed that the formation of RP-type sequences is energetically favored and precedes the formation of the LLTO perovskite phase. At around 1250 °C, the RP-type sequences become thermally unstable and gradually recrystallize to LLTO via the ionic exchange between the Li-rich RP-layers and the neighboring Ti and La layers as shown by quantitative HAADF-STEM. At higher sintering temperatures, LLTO grains become free of RP-type defects and the small grains recrystallize onto the large platelike seed grains via Ostwald ripening. The final microstructure is coarse-grained LLTO with total ionic conductivity in the range of 1 × 10-4 S/cm.

Ternary Rotational Polyanion Coupling Enables Fast Li Ion Dynamics in Tetrafluoroborate Ion Doped Antiperovskite Li2OHCl Solid Electrolyte

Li-rich antiperovskite (LiRAP) hydroxyhalides are emerging as attractive solid electrolyte (SEs) for all-solid-state Li metal batteries (ASSLMBs) due to their low melting point, low cost, and ease of scaling-up. The incorporation of rotational polyanions can reduce the activation energy and thus improve the Li ion conductivity of SEs. Herein, we propose a ternary rotational polyanion coupling strategy to fasten the Li ion conduction in tetrafluoroborate (BF4 -) ion doped LiRAP Li2OHCl. Assisted by first-principles calculation, powder X-ray diffraction, solid-state magnetic resonance and electrochemical impedance spectra, it is confirmed that Li ion transport in BF4 - ion doped Li2OHCl is strongly associated with the rotational coupling among OH-, BF4 - and Li2-O-H octahedrons, which enhances the Li ion conductivity for more than 1.8 times with the activation energy lowering 0.03 eV. This work provides a new perspective to design high-performance superionic conductors with multi-polyanions.

Effect of Relaxations on the Conductivity of La1/2+1/2x Li1/2-1/2x Ti1-x Al x O3 Fast Ion Conductors

Perovskite-type solid-state electrolytes, Li_3x La_2/3-x TiO₃ (LLTO), are considered among the most promising candidates for the development of all-solid-state batteries based on lithium metal. Their high bulk ionic conductivity can be modulated by substituting part of the atoms hosted in the A- or B-site of the LLTO structure. In this work, we investigate the crystal structure and the long-range charge migration processes characterizing a family of perovskites with the general formula La_1/2+1/2x Li_1/2-1/2x Ti_1-x Al _x O₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.6), in which the charge balance and the nominal A-site vacancies (n _A = 0) are preserved. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) investigations reveal the presence of a very complex nanostructure constituted by a mixture of two different ordered nanoregions of tetragonal P4/mmm and rhombohedral R3̅c symmetries. Broadband electrical spectroscopy studies confirm the presence of different crystalline domains and demonstrate that the structural fluctuations of the BO₆ octahedra require to be intra- and intercell coupled, to enable the long-range diffusion of the lithium cation, in a similar way to the segmental mode that takes place in polymer-ion conductors. These hypotheses are corroborated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and molecular dynamic simulations.

A Titanium and Tantalum Phosphate LiNaTiTa2 P2 O13 with An Open Framework hosting Li and Na Ions

Herein, we report a detailed structural, electric, thermal and optical analysis of a titanium and tantalum phosphate LiNaTiTa₂ P₂ O₁₃ . The title compound is comprised of typical ReO₃ -type layers constituted by corner-sharing TiO₆ and TaO₆ octahedra, bridged by PO₄ tetrahedra, and the structure is closely related to monophosphate niobium bronzes. The existence of pentagonal tunnels, hosting the Li⁺ and Na⁺ ions, endows LiNaTiTa₂ P₂ O₁₃ a moderate ion transportation behavior (4.67×10^-4  S/cm at 823 K). In addition, the successful substitution of Nb for Ta in LiNaTiTa₂ P₂ O₁₃ results in the optical absorption red-shift towards visible range with a narrowing band gap, which may provide a route of isomorphic replacement to band engineering for photo-catalysis.

Emerging perovskite monolayers

The library of two-dimensional (2D) materials has been enriched over recent years with novel crystal architectures endowed with diverse exciting functionalities. Bulk perovskites, including metal-halide and oxide systems, provide access to a myriad of properties through molecular engineering. Their tunable electronic structure offers remarkable features from long carrier-diffusion lengths and high absorption coefficients in metal-halide perovskites to high-temperature superconductivity, magnetoresistance and ferroelectricity in oxide perovskites. Emboldened by the 2D materials research, perovskites down to the monolayer limit have recently emerged. Like other 2D species, perovskites with reduced dimensionality are expected to exhibit new physics and to herald next-generation multifunctional devices. In this Review, we critically assess the preliminary studies on the synthetic routes and inherent properties of monolayer perovskite materials. We also discuss how to exploit them for widespread applications and provide an outlook on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for this enticing class of 2D materials.

Advances in Materials Design for All-Solid-state Batteries: From Bulk to Thin Films

All-solid-state batteries (SSBs) are one of the most fascinating next-generation energy storage systems that can provide improved energy density and safety for a wide range of applications from portable electronics to electric vehicles. The development of SSBs was accelerated by the discovery of new materials and the design of nanostructures. In particular, advances in the growth of thin-film battery materials facilitated the development of all solid-state thin-film batteries (SSTFBs)—expanding their applications to microelectronics such as flexible devices and implantable medical devices. However, critical challenges still remain, such as low ionic conductivity of solid electrolytes, interfacial instability and difficulty in controlling thin-film growth. In this review, we discuss the evolution of electrode and electrolyte materials for lithium-based batteries and their adoption in SSBs and SSTFBs. We highlight novel design strategies of bulk and thin-film materials to solve the issues in lithium-based batteries. We also focus on the important advances in thin-film electrodes, electrolytes and interfacial layers with the aim of providing insight into the future design of batteries. Furthermore, various thin-film fabrication techniques are also covered in this review.

Symmetry-mode analysis for intuitive observation of structure-property relationships in the lead-free antiferroelectric (1-x)AgNbO3-xLiTaO3

Functional materials are of critical importance to electronic and smart devices. A deep understanding of the structure-property relationship is essential for designing new materials. In this work, instead of utilizing conventional atomic coordinates, a symmetry-mode approach is successfully used to conduct structure refinement of the neutron powder diffraction data of (1-x)AgNbO₃-xLiTaO₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.09) ceramics. This provides rich structural information that not only clarifies the controversial symmetry assigned to pure AgNbO₃ but also explains well the detailed structural evolution of (1-x)AgNbO₃-xLiTaO₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.09) ceramics, and builds a comprehensive and straightforward relationship between structural distortion and electrical properties. It is concluded that there are four relatively large-amplitude major modes that dominate the distorted Pmc2₁ structure of pure AgNbO₃, namely a Λ3 antiferroelectric mode, a T4+ a ^- a ^- c ⁰ octahedral tilting mode, an H2 a ⁰ a ⁰ c ⁺/a ⁰ a ⁰ c ^- octahedral tilting mode and a Γ4- ferroelectric mode. The H2 and Λ3 modes become progressively inactive with increasing x and their destabilization is the driving force behind the composition-driven phase transition between the Pmc2₁ and R3c phases. This structural variation is consistent with the trend observed in the measured temperature-dependent dielectric properties and polarization-electric field (P-E) hysteresis loops. The mode crystallography applied in this study provides a strategy for optimizing related properties by tuning the amplitudes of the corresponding modes in these novel AgNbO₃-based (anti)ferroelectric materials.

Chemistry Design Towards a Stable Sulfide-Based Superionic Conductor Li4 Cu8 Ge3 S12

Sulfide-based superionic conductors with high ionic conductivity have been explored as candidates for solid-state Li batteries. However, moisture hypersensitivity has made their manufacture complicated and costly and also impeded applications in batteries. Now, a sulfide-based superionic conductor Li4 Cu8 Ge3 S12 with superior stability was developed based on the hard/soft acid-base theory. The compound is stable in both moist air and aqueous LiOH aqueous solution. The electrochemical stability window was up to 1.5 V. An ionic conductivity of 0.9×10-4  S cm with low activation energy of 0.33 eV was achieved without any optimization. The material features a rigid Cu-Ge-S open framework that increases its stability. Meanwhile, the weak bonding between Li+ and the framework promotes ionic conductivity. This work provides a structural configuration in which weak Li bonding in the rigid framework promotes an environment for highly conductive and stable solid-state electrolytes.

Strongly correlated perovskite lithium ion shuttles

Solid-state ion shuttles are of broad interest in electrochemical devices, nonvolatile memory, neuromorphic computing, and biomimicry utilizing synthetic membranes. Traditional design approaches are primarily based on substitutional doping of dissimilar valent cations in a solid lattice, which has inherent limits on dopant concentration and thereby ionic conductivity. Here, we demonstrate perovskite nickelates as Li-ion shuttles with simultaneous suppression of electronic transport via Mott transition. Electrochemically lithiated SmNiO₃ (Li-SNO) contains a large amount of mobile Li⁺ located in interstitial sites of the perovskite approaching one dopant ion per unit cell. A significant lattice expansion associated with interstitial doping allows for fast Li⁺ conduction with reduced activation energy. We further present a generalization of this approach with results on other rare-earth perovskite nickelates as well as dopants such as Na⁺ The results highlight the potential of quantum materials and emergent physics in design of ion conductors.

Recent progress in solid-state electrolytes for alkali-ion batteries

Solid-state electrolytes have a lot of advantages, including the inhibition of alkali metal dendrite growth, the elimination of liquid electrolyte leakage, the improvement of safety, the enhancement of energy density and power density, and the potential application in flexible electronics. Therefore, solid-state electrolytes have become one of the hottest topics in energy-storage research area. An up-to-date review on solid-state electrolytes is of not only scientific significance but also technological imperative. Here, recent progress in solid-state electrolytes for alkali ion batteries is summarized. Through this comprehensive review and the comparison of different solid-state electrolytes, we hope it can give a clear figure of the state-of-art status and the development trend of the future solid-state electrolytes.

Layered perovskite LiEuTiO4 as a 0.8 V lithium intercalation electrode

Lithium intercalation into LiEuTiO4 with a 0.8 V potential plateau considering both the energy density and tolerance of lithium plating.

Fluorine-Doped Antiperovskite Electrolyte for All-Solid-State Lithium-Ion Batteries

A fluorine-doped antiperovskite Li-ion conductor Li2 (OH)X (X=Cl, Br) is shown to be a promising candidate for a solid electrolyte in an all-solid-state Li-ion rechargeable battery. Substitution of F(-) for OH(-) transforms orthorhombic Li2 OHCl to a room-temperature cubic phase, which shows electrochemical stability to 9 V versus Li(+) /Li and two orders of magnitude higher Li-ion conductivity than that of orthorhombic Li2 OHCl. An all-solid-state Li/LiFePO4 with F-doped Li2 OHCl as the solid electrolyte showed good cyclability and a high coulombic efficiency over 40 charge/discharge cycles.

Unravelling the complex nanostructure of La0.5−xLi0.5−xSr2xTiO3 Li ionic conductors

The intricate nanostructure of La_0.5−xLi_0.5−xSr_2xTiO₃ Li-ion conductors has been elucidated. Advanced transmission electron microscopy has allowed investigation where average structure models cannot account for the changeable local atomic arrangements detected.

Evidence for changes on the lithium conduction dimensionality of Li0.5−yNayLa0.5Nb2O6 (0 ≤ y ≤ 0.5) perovskites

Evidence for changes on Li conductivity dimensionality of Li_0.5−yNa_yLa_0.5Nb₂O₆ (y = 0–0.5) perovskite on increasing Na content.

Role of the Li+node in the Li-BH4substructure of double-cation tetrahydroborates

The phase diagram LiBH4–ABH4(A= Rb,Cs) has been screened and revealed ten new compounds LiiAj(BH4)i+j(A= Rb, Cs), withi,jranging between 1 and 3, representing eight new structure types amongst homoleptic borohydrides. An approach based on synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction to solve crystal structures and solid-state first principles calculations to refine atomic positions allows characterizing multi-phase ball-milled samples. The Li-BH4substructure adopts various topologies as a function of the compound's Li content, ranging from one-dimensional isolated chains to three-dimensional networks. It is revealed that the Li+ion has potential as a surprisingly versatile cation participating in framework building with the tetrahydroborate anion BH4as a linker, if the framework is stabilized by large electropositive counter-cations. This utility can be of interest when designing novel hydridic frameworks based on alkaline metals and will be of use when exploring the structural and coordination chemistry of light-metal systems otherwise subject to eutectic melting.

Synthesis of H(x)Li(1-x)LaTiO4 from quantitative solid-state reactions at room temperature

The layered perovskite HLaTiO(4) reacts stoichiometrically with LiOH.H(2)O at room temperature to give targeted compositions in the series H(x)Li(1-x)LaTiO(4). Remarkably, the Li(+) and H(+) ions are quantitatively exchanged in the solid state and this allows stoichiometric control of ion exchange for the first time in this important series of compounds.

Nano-chessboard superlattices formed by spontaneous phase separation in oxides

The use of bottom-up fabrication of nanostructures for nanotechnology inherently requires two-dimensional control of the nanostructures at a particular surface. This could in theory be achieved crystallographically with a structure whose three-dimensional unit cell has two or more--tuneable--dimensions on the nanometre scale. Here, we present what is to our knowledge the first example of a truly periodic two-dimensional nanometre-scale phase separation in any inorganic material, and demonstrate our ability to tune the unit-cell dimensions. As such, it represents great potential for the use of standard ceramic processing methods for nanotechnology. The phase separation occurs spontaneously in the homologous series of the perovskite-based Li-ion conductor, (Nd(2/3-x)Li(3x))TiO3, to give two phases whose dimensions both extend into the nanometre scale. This unique feature could lead to its application as a template for the assembly of nanostructures or molecular monolayers.

Beyond the Structure–Property Relationship Paradigm: Influence of the Crystal Structure and Microstructure on the Li+ Conductivity of La2/3LixTi1−xAlxO3 Oxides

The crystal structures of several oxides of the La(2/3)Li(x)Ti(1-x)Al(x)O(3) system have been studied by selected-area electron diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and powder neutron diffraction, and their lithium conductivity has been by complex impedance spectroscopy. The compounds have a perovskite-related structure with a unit cell radical2 a(p)x2 a(p)x radical2 a(p) (a(p)=perovskite lattice parameter) due to the tilting of the (Ti/Al)O(6) octahedra and the ordering of lanthanum and lithium ions and vacancies along the 2 a(p) axis. The Li(+) ions present a distorted square-planar coordination and are located in interstitial positions of the structure, which could explain the very high ionic conductivity of this type of material. The lithium conductivity depends on the oxide composition and its crystal microstructure, which varies with the thermal treatment of the sample. The microstructure of these titanates is complex due to formation of domains of ordering and other defects such as strains and compositional fluctuations.

Crystal Structure and Microstructure of Some La2/3-xLi3xTiO3 Oxides: An Example of the Complementary Use of Electron Diffraction and Microscopy and Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction To Study Complex Materials

Three representative oxides of the La(2/3)(-)(x)()Li(3)(x)()TiO(3) system have been studied by selected area electron diffraction (SAED), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction. HRTEM showed that the materials have a complex microstructure. The SAED and HRTEM results have allowed us to propose a model to refine the crystal structure of these oxides that also accounts for their microstructure. The materials have a perovskite-related structure with a diagonal unit cell ( radical 2a(p) x radical 2a(p) x 2a(p)) as a consequence of the tilting of the TiO(6) octahedra. Ordering of lanthanum and lithium ions and vacancies along the 2a(p)-axis, as well as displacements of titanium ions from the center of the octahedra, have been determined. The size and shape of the domains have been obtained from the synchrotron X-ray diffraction data; in addition, other extended defects such as strains and compositional fluctuations have been detected.

The Unexpected Preference for the fac-Isomer with the Tris(5-ester-substituted-2,2‘-bipyridine) Complexes of Ruthenium(II)

The synthesis of a number of new 2,2'-bipyridine ligands, functionalized with bulky ester side groups, is reported (L2-L8). Their reaction with [Ru(DMSO)(4)Cl(2)] gives rise to tris-chelate ruthenium(II) metal complexes which show an unusually high proportion of the fac-isomer, as judged by (1)H NMR following conversion to the ruthenium(II) complex of 2,2'-bipyridine-5-carboxylic acid methyl ester (L1). The initial reaction appears to have thermodynamic control with the steric bulk of the ligands causing the third ligand to be labile under the reaction conditions used, giving rise to disappointing yields and allowing rearrangement to the more stable facial form. DFT studies indicate that this does not appear to be as a consequence of a metal centered electronic effect. The two isomers of [Ru(L1)(3)](PF(6))(2) were separated into the two individual forms using silica preparative plate chromatographic procedures, and the photophysical characteristics of the two forms compared. The results appear to indicate that there is no significant difference in both their room temperature electronic absorption and emission spectra or their excited state lifetimes at 77 K.

Origin of constant loss in ionic conductors

We have analyzed the constant loss contribution to the ac conductivity in the frequency range 10 Hz-1 MHz and temperatures down to 8 K, for two Li ionic conductors, one crystalline (Li(0.18)La(0.61)TiO(3)) and the other glassy (61SiO(2);35Li(2)O.3Al(2)O3.P(2)O(5)). As temperature is increased a crossover is observed from a nearly constant loss to a fractional power law frequency dependence of the ac conductivity. At any fixed frequency omega, this crossover occurs at a temperature T such that omega approximately nu(0)exp(-E(m)/k(B)T), where nu(0) is the attempt frequency and E(m) is identified with the barrier for Li+ ions to leave their wells.