Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal: Advanced Energy Materials

Volume number: 10

Issue number: 6

ISSN: 1614-6832

eISSN: 1614-6840

Open access status: Hybrid

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201903719

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
The lithium-conducting, rare-earth halides, Li3MX6 (M = Y, Er; X = Cl, Br), have garnered significantly rising interest recently, as they have been reported to have oxidative stability and high ionic conductivities. However, while a multitude of materials exhibit a superionic conductivity close to 1 mS cm(-1), the exact design strategies to further improve the ionic transport properties have not been established yet. Here, the influence of the employed synthesis method of mechanochemical milling, compared to subsequent crystallization routines as well as classic solid-state syntheses on the structure and resulting transport behavior of Li3ErCl6 and Li3YCl6 are explored. Using a combination of X-ray diffraction, pair distribution function analysis, density functional theory, and impedance spectroscopy, insights into the average and local structural features that influence the underlying transport are provided. The existence of a cation defect within the structure in which Er/Y are disordered to a new position strongly benefits the transport properties. A synthetically tuned, increasing degree of this disordering leads to a decreasing activation energy and increasing ionic conductivity. This work sheds light on the possible synthesis strategies and helps to systematically understand and further improve the properties of this class of materials.

Harvard Citation style: Schlem, R., Muy, S., Prinz, N., Banik, A., Shao-Horn, Y., Zobel, M., et al. (2020) Mechanochemical Synthesis: A Tool to Tune Cation Site Disorder and Ionic Transport Properties of Li₃MCl₆ (M = Y, Er) Superionic Conductors, Advanced Energy Materials, 10(6), Article 1903719. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201903719

APA Citation style: Schlem, R., Muy, S., Prinz, N., Banik, A., Shao-Horn, Y., Zobel, M., & Zeier, W. (2020). Mechanochemical Synthesis: A Tool to Tune Cation Site Disorder and Ionic Transport Properties of Li₃MCl₆ (M = Y, Er) Superionic Conductors. Advanced Energy Materials. 10(6), Article 1903719. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201903719