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Title: Deposition and characterization of Li[sub 2]O-SiO[sub 2]-P[sub 2]O[sub 5] thin films

Journal Article · · Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States)
; ; ; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  2. Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

Amorphous lithium electrolyte thin films, xLi[sub 2]O[center dot]ySiO[sub 2][center dot]zP[sub 2]O[sub 5], were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering of pure and mixed-phase lithium silicate, lithium phosphate, SiO[sub 2], Li[sub 2]O, and Li[sub 2]CO[sub 3] targets, and their compositions were determined using proton-induced [gamma]-ray emission spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and atomic-emission spectroscopy. The deposition conditions were chosen to assure thermalization of the sputtered flux, which proved to be necessary in order to obtain a homogeneous distribution of Si and P in the films. Optical absorption and ac impedance measurements showed that glass-in-glass phase separation occurred in a large SiO[sub 2]-rich domain of the composition diagram. In contrast to bulk glasses, all of the Li[sub 2]O-SiO[sub 2] films were phase-separated, including those with lithia contents larger than lithium disilicate. High-performance liquid chromatography measurements revealed that, analogous to bulk glasses, the addition of SiO[sub 2] to Li[sub 2]O-P[sub 2]O[sub 5] compositions reduced the number of phosphate anion dimers, trimers, and higher anion polymers in the films through the formation of -Si-O-P- bonds. However, in contrast to bulk glasses, the distribution of phosphate anion polymers followed closely the Flory distribution, with the fraction of anion polymers decreasing monotonically with increasing chain length.

DOE Contract Number:
AC05-84OR21400
OSTI ID:
5992714
Journal Information:
Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States), Vol. 76:4; ISSN 0002-7820
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English