Mian Huang

Sol–gel derived Li–La–Zr–O thin films as solid electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries

Li–La–Zr–O thin films were successfully fabricated using a sol–gel spin coating method, and the effects of altering the annealing temperature and the number of layers of the films on electrolyte conductivity were studied. Using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the characteristics of these films were investigated as a function of annealing temperature and the numbers of layers of the film. With these methods, an amorphous structure and a smooth surface on the films were revealed. The thin films ionic conductivity was investigated by impedance analysis. The results show that the ionic conductivity of the films decreases with an increase of the annealing temperature, from 1.67 × 10−6 S cm−1 for 600 °C annealing to 8.53 × 10−7 S cm−1 for 800 °C annealing. The influence of film thickness on conductivity was investigated and the conductivity followed an inverse u-shaped curve with increasing film thickness. We propose that Li–La–Zr–O thin films may be promising solid electrolytes for solid-state lithium-ion batteries.

Formation Mechanism of Garnet-Like Li7La3Zr2O12 Powder Prepared by Solid State Reaction

Abstract The formation mechanism of garnet-like Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 (LLZO) phase was investigated using LiOH·H 2 O as raw materials by XRD and DTA/TG measurements. It is found that the reaction mechanism of the LLZO formation is as follows: 7Li 2 O+3La 2 O 3 +4ZrO 2 =2Li 7 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 . The LLZO phase forms at about 680 °C according to the XRD patterns, which is in agreement with the thermic peak at 700 °C in DTA/TG curves, and the peak arises from the formation of LLZO phase. The temperature range of stable LLZO phase is wider, from 720 to 1000 °C. However, LLZO is thermally unstable at the high temperatures ( 2 Zr 2 O 7 . And the amount of the decomposed products increases, and LLZO decreases gradually with the increase of the calcination temperature. When the reactant mixture is calcined at low temperature, the produced phases are identified to be lanthanum compounds because La 2 O 3 absorbs moisture and CO 2 very easily. The chemical reactions at lower temperature are mainly related with the reactions among lanthanum compounds. LLZO powder could be synthesized by solid state reaction at 800 °C. It is found that the LLZO crystal belongs to the tetragonal symmetry. SEM observation shows that the obtained LLZO powder is nano-sized.