Cycling Performance at Li7La3Zr2O12|Li Interface

Abstract

Cyclability of the Li|Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ interface was tested by voltammetry under externally applied potential difference. It was found that the solid electrolyte synthesized in the study contains a minor amount of an impurity in the form of lithium carbonate. This impurity forms, when brought in contact with metallic lithium, carbon that pierces the whole volume of the ceramic separator and produces a channel for a flow of electrons through the material, which leads to a poor cyclability of the solid electrolyte. A possible way to solve the given problem is via a purposeful replacement of the carbonate in the intergrain space of Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ with another crystalline or glassy plasticizer that possesses an acceptable unipolar lithium conductivity (no less than 10^–6 S cm^–1) and forms, when brought in contact with metallic lithium, no electrically conducting compound or a compound capable of reversibly intercalating/deintercalating lithium.