Inorganic glass electrolytes with polymer-like viscoelasticity

T Dai and SY Wu and YX Lu and Y Yang and Y Liu and C Chang and XH Rong and RJ Xiao and JM Zhao and YH Liu and WH Wang and LQ Chen and YS Hu, NATURE ENERGY, 8, 1221-1228 (2023).

DOI: 10.1038/s41560-023-01356-y

Solid-state batteries offer an alternative promising power source for electric vehicles. However, the interfacial mechanical stability of inorganic electrolytes is inferior to that of organic electrolytes. A high stack pressure (several to hundreds of megapascals) is often required to maintain intimate contact with electrodes. Here we report a class of viscoelastic inorganic glass (VIGLAS) to serve as solid electrolytes by simply replacing chlorine of tetrachloroaluminates with oxygen. The VIGLAS possesses high ionic conductivity (similar to 1 mS cm(-1) at 30 degrees C) for both Li+ and Na+, superior chemo-mechanical compatibility with 4.3 V cathodes and the ability to enable pressure- less Li- and Na-based solid-state batteries (<0.1 MPa). The low melting temperature (<160 degrees C) allows the electrolytes to efficiently infiltrate electrode materials, akin to a liquid battery. Additionally, the deformability of the electrolytes facilitates the feasibility of scale-up through the production of thin films via a rolling process.

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