Power the future with low-cost, high-performance all-solid-state batteries

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Jul 13, 2017, 14:00 ET

TOKYO, July 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have devised a low-cost approach to developing all-solid-state batteries, improving prospects for scaling up the technology for widespread use in electric vehicles, communications and other industrial applications.

Ever since batteries were invented over 200 years ago, there has been a drive to improve quality and performance at reduced cost. Compared to common lithium-ion batteries that contain lithium ion conducting liquids, all-solid-state batteries of the future promise a series of advantages: improved safety and reliability, higher energy storage and longer life cycles.

The discovery of 'superionic' conductors - solid crystals that enable fast movement of ions - is spurring the development of such dream batteries, but promising designs have so far relied on the use of rare metals such as germanium, making them too expensive for large-scale applications.

Ryoji Kanno and colleagues at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have now discovered a new material with a low-cost, scalable approach that involves substituting germanium with two more readily available elements: tin and silicon. The new material achieved an ionic conductivity¹ that exceeds that of liquid electrolytes. Reporting their findings in Chemistry of Materials, the team states: "This germanium-free lithium conductor could be a promising candidate as an electrolyte in all-solid-state batteries."

Due to its high chemical stability and ease of fabrication, Kanno says that the new material increases the possibilities of fine-tuning solid electrolytes to meet diverse industry and consumer needs.

In 2011, Kanno and his team, working in collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation and Japan's High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), published a landmark paper in Nature Materials that introduced a solid electrolyte with the structure Li₁₀GeP₂S₁₂ (LGPS). This material became an important forerunner in the race to develop viable all-solid-state batteries. It exhibited an ionic conductivity of 1.2 × 10^–2 S cm^–1 at room temperature, a level comparable with — and even exceeding some - liquid electrolytes used in existing batteries.

The team went on to design other solid electrolytes based on the same LGPS crystal structure, with promising results. (See Solid electrolytes open doors to solid-state batteries.)

In their latest study, the researchers kept the same framework structure of LGPS, and finely adjusted the ratio and positioning of the tin, silicon and other constituent atoms. The resulting material LSSPS (composition: Li_10.35[Sn_0.27Si_1.08]P_1.65S₁₂ (Li_3.45[Sn_0.09Si_0.36]P_0.55S4)) achieved an ionic conductivity of 1.1 x 10^–2 S cm^–1 at room temperature, almost reaching that of the original LGPS structure.

Although further work will be required to optimise performance for different usage purposes, the new material raises hopes for low-cost production without sacrificing performance.

Kanno envisions that in addition to meeting current battery needs across all sectors, all-solid-state batteries will expand the possibilities of responding to new user needs arising from the Internet of Things (IoT) and the shift towards smart systems, as well as powering robots, drones and space and aircraft technologies among others in future.

Technical terms

¹Ionic conductivity: A measure of how easily lithium ions flow through a given material

Reference

Yulong Sun^a, Kota Suzuki^a,b, Satoshi Hori ^b, Masaaki Hirayama^a,b and Ryoji Kanno^a,b *, Superionic Conductors: Superionic Conductors: Li_10+δ[Sn_ySi_1–y]_1+δP_2–δS₁₂ with a Li₁₀GeP₂S₁₂-type Structure in the Li₃PS₄-Li₄SnS₄-Li₄SiS₄ Quasi-ternary System, Chemistry of Materials, DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b00886

^aDepartment of Electronic Chemistry, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology

^b Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Materials and Chemical Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology

*Corresponding author's email: [email protected]

About Tokyo Institute of Technlogy

Tokyo Institute of Technology stands at the forefront of research and higher education as the leading university for science and technology in Japan. Tokyo Tech researchers excel in a variety of fields, such as material science, biology, computer science and physics. Founded in 1881, Tokyo Tech has grown to host 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students who become principled leaders of their fields and some of the most sought-after scientists and engineers at top companies. Embodying the Japanese philosophy of "monotsukuri," meaning technical ingenuity and innovation, the Tokyo Tech community strives to make significant contributions to society through high-impact research. www.titech.ac.jp/english/

SOURCE Tokyo Institute of Technology