Solid state batteries

All-solid‐state batteries offer several advantages over conventional batteries with liquid electrolytes, including safety due to the absence of electrolyte leakage, more compact dimensions that facilitate battery miniaturization as well as a wider range of operation temperatures. In contrast, this class of batteries still exhibits lower performance associated with limited Li mobility in the solid electrolyte as well as across the electrode-electrolyte interfaces. Targeted material design can help to overcome these limitations, but requires a detailed knowledge of the interface structure and chemistry (grain boundary structure, segregation of constituents and impurities, buildup of secondary phases) and their evolution over charge-discharge cycles. Secondary ion mass spectrometry and atom probe tomography show unprecedented capabilities in quantitative analysis of local elemental distributions for all constituents including Li. In collaboration with colleagues from IEK-1 and IEK-9, we investigate local chemistry in complex polycrystalline solid electrolytes, such as lithium-aluminum-titanium phosphate, reveal their grain boundary structure and analyze the influence of processing impurities. The nanoscale analytical information helps to understand and model ionic mobility in the structure, and facilitates advanced interfacial design for better electrolyte performance.

Contact: Dr. Ivan Povstugar