Liquid‐Phase Synthesis of Highly Deformable and Air‐Stable Sn‐Substituted Li3PS4 for All‐Solid‐State Batteries Fabricated and Operated under Low Pressures

Abstract

AbstractThe liquid‐phase synthesis (LS) of sulfide solid electrolytes (SEs) has promising potential for mass production of practical all‐solid‐state Li batteries (ASLBs). However, their accessible SE compositions are mostly metal‐free. Moreover, liquid‐phase‐synthesized‐SEs (LS‐SEs) suffer from high electronic conductivity due to carbon impurities, resulting in below‐par electrochemical performance of ASLBs. Here, the LS of highly deformable and air‐stable Li3+xP1‐xSnxS4 (0.19 mS cm−1) using 1,2‐ethylene diamine‐1,2‐ethanedithiol with tetrahydrofuran is reported. A low heat‐treatment temperature (260 °C) prevents the carbonization of organic residues. Importantly, a remarkable enhancement in the deformability of LS‐SEs compared to that of conventional solid‐state‐synthesized SEs (SS‐SEs) is identified for the first time. LiNi0.7Co0.15Mn0.15O2 electrodes employing LS‐SEs in ASLBs significantly outperform those using SS‐SEs, notably when assembled under a low fabricating pressure (148 vs 370 MPa, e.g., capacity loss: 2 vs 41 mA h g−1) or tested under a low operating pressure (12 or 3 MPa), which is attributed to reduced electrochemo‐mechanical effects. Finally, when employing SEs that are exposed to air (dew point of −20 °C), LiNi0.7Co0.15Mn0.15O2 electrodes employing SEs with Sn‐substituted composition or prepared by LS exhibit significantly better capacity retention than conventional SEs with Sn‐free composition or prepared by SS (e.g., 92.2% for LS‐Li3.2P0.8Sn0.2S4 vs 32.5% for SS‐Li3PS4).