High ion conductive Sb2O5-doped β-Li3PS4 with excellent stability against Li for all-solid-state lithium batteries

Abstract

The combination of high conductivity and good stability against Li is not easy to achieve for solid electrolytes, hindering the development of high energy solid-state batteries. In this study, doped electrolytes of Li3P1-xSbxS4-2.5xO2.5x are successfully prepared via the high energy ball milling and subsequent heat treatment. Plenty of techniques like XRD, Raman, SEM, EDS and TEM are utilized to characterize the crystal structures, particle sizes, and morphologies of the glass-ceramic electrolytes. Among them, the Li3P0.98Sb0.02S3.95O0.05 (x = 0.02) exhibits the highest ionic conductivity (∼1.08 mS cm−1) at room temperature with an excellent stability against lithium. In addition, all-solid-state lithium batteries are assembled with LiCoO2 as cathode, Li10GeP2S12/Li3P0.98Sb0.02S3.95O0.05 as the bi-layer electrolyte, and lithium as anode. The constructed solid-state batteries delivers a high initial discharge capacity of 133 mAh g−1 at 0.1C in the range of 3.0–4.3 V vs. Li/Li+ at room temperature, and shows a capacity retention of 78.6% after 50 cycles. Most importantly, the all-solid-state lithium batteries with the Li10GeP2S12/Li3P0.98Sb0.02S3.95O0.05 electrolyte can be workable even at −10 °C. This study provides a promising electrolyte with the improved conductivity and stability against Li for the application of all-solid-state lithium batteries.