Lithium Polysulfidophosphates: A Family of Lithium-Conducting Sulfur-Rich Compounds for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2013 · Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201300680· OSTI ID:1092228

Lin, Zhan ^[1]; Liu, Zengcai ^[1]; Fu, Wujun ^[1]; Dudney, Nancy J ^[1]; Liang, Chengdu ^[1]

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1. ORNL

Given the great potential for improving the energy density of state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries by a factor of 5, a breakthrough in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries will have a dramatic impact in a broad scope of energy related fields. Conventional Li-S batteries that use liquid electrolytes are intrinsically short-lived with low energy efficiency. The challenges stem from the poor electronic and ionic conductivities of elemental sulfur and its discharge products. We report herein lithium polysulfidophosphates (LPSP), a family of sulfur-rich compounds, as the enabler of long-lasting and energy-efficient Li-S batteries. LPSP have ionic conductivities of 3.0 10-5 S cm-1 at 25 oC, which is 8 orders of magnitude higher than that of Li2S (~10-13 S cm-1). The high Li-ion conductivity of LPSP is the salient characteristic of these compounds that impart the excellent cycling performance to Li-S batteries. In addition, the batteries are configured in an all-solid state that promises the safe cycling of high-energy batteries with metallic lithium anodes.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE); USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1092228
• Journal Information: Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 52, Issue 29; ISSN 1433-7851
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

batteries
energy storage
solid electrolytes