GOALI: Understanding the Reaction Pathway and Crystallization Dynamics for Solution Synthesis of Lithium Thiophosphate Solid Electrolytes

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY

Investigators

Abstract

Non-Technical Summary: Solidifying batteries with inorganic ceramic electrolytes has been considered a promising approach to improve the safety and energy density of today’s lithium-ion batteries. However, full scale commercialization of solid-state batteries is still challenging due to the difficulties in scalable synthesis and processing of solid electrolytes (SEs). Solution-based synthesis of SEs is believed to be a promising approach for large-scale synthesis of SEs but the material synthesized from this approach exhibits much lower performance compared with that synthesized by the conventional solid-state approach. This project, supported by the Ceramics Program in the Division of Materials Research, aims to combine expertise from both university and industry researchers to understand the underlying reasons for the decreased performance of solution synthesized SEs. Through the GOALI partner (Saft America), the work will contribute directly to industrial development and manufacturing of next-generation batteries for commercial and defense applications. The project will leverage the unique industrial expertise of Saft America, through technical collaboration and student internships, to further validate the research outcome and promote the development of practical processes for large-scale manufacturing of SEs. The multi-disciplinary research, involving chemistry, materials science, and computer simulation and modeling, will provide multiple opportunities for training graduate and undergraduate researchers. The project will also contribute broadly to society through outreach activities to K-12 students. Technical Summary: Supported by the CERAMICS program at the National Science Foundation, this project aims to understand: (i) the reaction pathway for solution-based synthesis of lithium thiophosphate glass-ceramic SEs, (ii) the crystallization dynamics of lithium thiophosphate glass-ceramic SEs during synthetic heat treatments, and (iii) the synthesis/processing-structure-property of solution-synthesized lithium thiophosphate SEs. Correlating the structural information with the ionic conductivity of SEs not only helps understand the effect of residual solvent, crystallinity, and disorder on the resulting ionic conductivity to identify the dominant reason for the decreased ionic conductivity, but also provides direct fundamental insights to precisely control the synthesis and processing of superior SEs at a large scale. This project also leverages the unique expertise of the GOALI partner in industrial cell manufacturing and electrochemical measurements at extreme conditions. The proposed research can help address sustainable chemistry challenges in (i) designing and developing innovative experimental and computational techniques to understand chemical reactions in solutions at an atomic scale, (ii) developing a database for the pair distribution functions of liquid-phase Li2S-P2S5 binary in various solutions, and (iii) developing precise and industrial relevant procedures for energy- and resource-efficient manufacturing of critical SE materials for clean and safe energy storage. The partnership with Saft America will provide students with internship and collaboration opportunities with scientists in a leading battery company and promote the scale-up and practical application of the solution-based synthesis and processing of SEs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.