Electrolyte melt infiltration for scalable manufacturing of inorganic all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries

• Published in: Nature materials Vol. 20; no. 7; pp. 984 - 990
• Main Authors: Xiao, Yiran, Turcheniuk, Kostiantyn, Narla, Aashray, Song, Ah-Young, Ren, Xiaolei, Magasinski, Alexandre, Jain, Ayush, Huang, Shirley, Lee, Haewon, Yushin, Gleb
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.07.2021; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 639/301/299/891; 639/301/357/551; Additives; Biomaterials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Electric cells; Electric vehicles; Electrodes; Electrolytes; Electrolytic cells; Energy costs; Energy efficiency; Fabrication; Flux density; High temperature; Industrial safety; Infiltration; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Manufacturing; Materials Science; Melting point; Melting points; Molten salt electrolytes; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Production costs; Rechargeable batteries; Sintering; Solid electrolytes; Solid state; Thermal stability
• ISSN: 1476-1122; 1476-4660
• DOI: 10.1038/s41563-021-00943-2

All-solid-state lithium (Li) metal and lithium-ion batteries (ASSLBs) with inorganic solid-state electrolytes offer improved safety for electric vehicles and other applications. However, current inorganic ASSLB manufacturing technology suffers from high cost, excessive amounts of solid-state electrolyte and conductive additives, and low attainable volumetric energy density. Such a fabrication method involves separate fabrications of sintered ceramic solid-state electrolyte membranes and ASSLB electrodes, which are then carefully stacked and sintered together in a precisely controlled environment. Here we report a disruptive manufacturing technology that offers reduced manufacturing costs and improved volumetric energy density in all solid cells. Our approach mimics the low-cost fabrication of commercial Li-ion cells with liquid electrolytes, except that we utilize solid-state electrolytes with low melting points that are infiltrated into dense, thermally stable electrodes at moderately elevated temperatures (~300 °C or below) in a liquid state, and which then solidify during cooling. Nearly the same commercial equipment could be used for electrode and cell manufacturing, which substantially reduces a barrier for industry adoption. This energy-efficient method was used to fabricate inorganic ASSLBs with LiNi 0.33 Mn 0.33 Co 0.33 O 2 cathodes and both Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 and graphite anodes. The promising performance characteristics of such cells open new opportunities for the accelerated adoption of ASSLBs for safer electric transportation. All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries provide improved safety but typically suffer from high cost and low volumetric energy density. An electrolyte melt-infiltration approach offering reduced manufacturing costs and improved volumetric energy density in all solid cells is proposed.