Preparation and characterization of Na3PS4–Na4GeS4 glass and glass-ceramic electrolytes

Abstract

Li4GeS4-substituted Li3PS4 crystals have high Li+ ion conductivities comparable to that of commercial organic electrolytes [Kamaya et al., Nat. Mater. 10 (2011) 682]. In this study, (100 − x)Na3PS4·xNa4GeS4 glasses and glass-ceramics were prepared for novel Na+ ion conductors. These glasses, which have the highest Na content reported to date in the Na–P–Ge–S system, were prepared by a mechanical milling technique. These glasses are composed of PS43− and GeS44−. The crystallization temperatures gradually increased with increasing Na4GeS4 content. The glasses showed higher conductivities of ~10−5 S cm−1 than the Na–P–Ge–S glasses reported so far. The glass–ceramics with the compositions x = 50 and 75, where the crystal predicted by first principles calculations to have high conductivities exceeding 10−3 S cm−1 was precipitated, exhibited Na+ ion conductivities of ~10−5 S cm−1 at room temperature.