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Stability and conductivity of cation- and anion-substituted LiBH 4 -based solid-state electrolytes

The high-temperature phase of LiBH 4 (HT-LiBH 4 ) exhibits a promisingly high lithium ion conductivity but is unstable at room temperature. We use density functional theory (DFT) calculations to investigate the stabilization effect of halogen and alkali cation/anion substitutions on HT-LiBH 4 as well the underlying mechanism for the high lithium ion conductivity. We find that increasing the substituent concentration enhances the stabilization of HT-LiBH 4 (i.e., the DFT energy difference between the low- and high-temperature forms of substituted LiBH 4 is reduced). Cation/anion substitution also leads to a higher Li defect (vacancy, interstitial, and Frenkel) formation energy, thereby reducing the Li defect (vacancy, interstitial, and Frenkel) concentrations. Using DFT migration barriers input into kinetic Monte Carlo simulations and the Materials INTerface (MINT) framework, here we calculate the room-temperature lithium ion conductivities for Li(BH 4 ) 1-x I x (x = 0.25 and 0.5) and Li 1-y K y BH 4 (y = 0.25). Our calculations suggest that the lower I concentration leads to a higher lithium ion conductivity of 5.7 x10 -3 S/cm compared with that of Li(BH 4 ) 0.5 I 0.5 (4.2 ×10 -5 S/cm) because of the formation of more Li-related defects. Based on our findings, we suggest that the stabilization of HT-LiBH 4 -based lithium ion conductors can be controlled by carefully tuning the cation/anion substituent concentrations to maximize the lithium ionic conductivities of the specific system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mechanochemistry of the LiBH 4 –AlCl 3 System: Structural Characterization of the Products by Solid-State NMR

The double-cation metal borohydride, Li 4 Al 3 (BH 4 ) 13 , mechanochemically produced from a 13:3 mixture of lithium borohydride (LiBH 4 ) and aluminum chloride (AlCl 3 ), has a low hydrogen desorption temperature; however, the material’s decomposition is accompanied by a large emission of toxic diborane (B 2 H 6 ). In this study, we found that a decrease of the LiBH 4 :AlCl 3 ratio in the starting mixture yields increased amounts of partially chlorinated products that also dehydrogenate at low temperature, but release negligibly small amounts of diborane. Extensive characterization by solid-state NMR spectroscopy (SSNMR) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) found that the 11:3 ratio product maintains the Li 4 Al 3 (BH 4 ) 13- like structure, with additional Cl – anions substituting for [BH 4 ] – compared to the 13:3 mixture. Further decrease of relative LiBH 4 concentration in the starting mixture to 9:3 results in a different product composed of tetrahedral [Al(BH 4 ) 4 ] - and [Al(BH 4 ) 2 Cl 2 ] - complexes, in which two hydrogen atoms of each borohydride group are bridged to aluminum sites. Additionally, SSNMR revealed the covalent character of the Al–H bonds, which is not observed in Li 4 Al 3 (BH 4 ) 13 . In conclusion, these findings suggest that the Al–Cl bonding present in the chlorinated complexes prevents the formation of Al(BH 4 ) 3 , which is a known intermediate leading to the formation of diborane during thermal dehydrogenation of the nearly chlorine-free Li 4 Al 3 (BH 4 ) 13 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Materials Data on LiBH by Materials Project

LiBH crystallizes in the orthorhombic Pnma space group. The structure is two-dimensional and consists of two LiBH sheets oriented in the (0, 1, 0) direction. Li is bonded in a 3-coordinate geometry to three equivalent H atoms. There are two shorter (1.94 Å) and one longer (2.07 Å) Li–H bond lengths. B is bonded in a distorted single-bond geometry to one H atom. The B–H bond length is 1.28 Å. H is bonded to three equivalent Li and one B atom to form corner-sharing HLi3B trigonal pyramids.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Solid state electrolyte composites based on complex hydrides and metal doped fullerenes/fulleranes for batteries and electrochemical applications

A LiBH 4 --C 60 nanocomposite that displays fast lithium ionic conduction in the solid state is provided. The material is a homogenous nanocomposite that contains both LiBH 4 and a hydrogenated fullerene species. In the presence of C 60 , the lithium ion mobility of LiBH 4 is significantly enhanced in the as prepared state when compared to pure LiBH 4 . After the material is annealed the lithium ion mobility is further enhanced. Constant current cycling demonstrated that the material is stable in the presence of metallic lithium electrodes. The material can serve as a solid state electrolyte in a solid-state lithium ion battery.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Solid state electrolyte composites based on complex hydrides and metal doped fullerenes/fulleranes for batteries and electrochemical applications

A LiBH4—C 60 nanocomposite that displays fast lithium ionic conduction in the solid state is provided. The material is a homogenous nanocomposite that contains both LiBH 4 and a hydrogenated fullerene species. In the presence of C 60 , the lithium ion mobility of LiBH 4 is significantly enhanced in the as prepared state when compared to pure LiBH 4 . After the material is annealed the lithium ion mobility is further enhanced. Constant current cycling demonstrated that the material is stable in the presence of metallic lithium electrodes. The material can serve as a solid state electrolyte in a solid-state lithium ion battery.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Mechanochemical reactions and hydrogen storage capacities in MBH 4 –SiS 2 systems (M=Li or Na)

The hydrogen storage properties, and phase compositions of mechanochemically prepared mixtures of xMBH 4 -SiS 2 (x = 2–8), where M = Li or Na, were investigated using gas sorption analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and infrared and solid-state NMR spectroscopic methods. The 2LiBH 4 :1SiS 2 system forms an amorphous product that releases ca. 4.3 wt % of H 2 below 385 °C with a T onset of 88 °C without detectable diborane emission. The dehydrogenated sample reversibly absorbs 1.5 wt % of H 2 at 385 °C under 160 bar pressure. The H 2 release from materials with varying LiBH 4 :SiS 2 ratios peaks at 8.2 wt % for the 6LiBH 4 :1SiS 2 composition, with a reversible hydrogen storage capacity of 2.4 wt %. The H 2 desorption capacities of the Li-containing systems surpass those of Na-containing systems. Solid-state NMR studies indicate that products of mechanochemical reactions in the LiBH 4 SiS 2 system consist of one-dimensional chains of edge-sharing SiS 4/2 tetrahedra in which the non-bridging S-ends are terminated with Li + , which are further coordinated to the [BH 4 ] – anions. Here, a variety of possible polymorphs in the Li—Si—S-(BH 4 ) composition space have been identified using first principles and thermodynamic modeling that supports the likelihood of formation of such novel complexes.

08 HYDROGEN↗

The influence of LiH and TiH 2 on hydrogen storage in MgB 2 I: Promotion of bulk hydrogenation at reduced temperature

Mg(BH 4 ) 2 is an attractive hydrogen storage material, owing to its high gravimetric capacity of 14.9 wt %. However, the dehydrogenated material MgB 2 is very difficult to rehydrogenate, requiring excessive pressures and temperatures. Here we report the influence of LiH and TiH 2 on hydrogen storage reactions involving Bulk MgB 2 using XRD, XAS, FTIR and NMR. In ball-milled mixtures of LiH/MgB 2 , the LiH loses crystallinity but remains undissociated, forming a weakly bound complex with MgB 2 . The weak interactions produce minor variations in the local electronic structure at B and Mg, but do not markedly affect the underlying MgB 2 hexagonal crystal structure. No evidence is found for a mixed-metal boride Mg 1-x Li x B 2 in the as-prepared LiH/MgB 2 materials. The presence of LiH dramatically improves the hydrogenation of MgB 2 at 700 bar, forming borohydride 100 °C below the minimum hydrogenation temperature of pure MgB 2 and without the formation of undesirable intermediates such as [B 3 H 8 ] - , [B 10 H 10 ] 2- or [B 12 H 12 ] 2- . Evidence is reported for a mixed-metal borohydride of the type Mg (3-x)/2 Li x (BH 4 ) 3 produced by the hydrogenation. Subsequent desorption is also improved compared to pure Mg(BH 4 ) 2 and LiBH 4 , showing single-step hydrogen release up to ~8 wt% by 380 °C, whereas Mg(BH 4 ) 2 and LiBH 4 still retain significant amounts of hydrogen at this temperature. The material produced by desorption contains both MgB 2 and Mg metal, revealing the original LiH/MgB 2 system is not fully reversible. In contrast to LiH, TiH 2 is essentially inert when ball-milled with MgB 2 , and high-pressure hydrogenation leaves only unreacted TiH 2 and MgB 2 . Thus, added TiH 2 provides no benefit to MgB 2 hydrogenation.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Understanding the Role of Borohydride Doping in Electrochemical Stability of Argyrodite Li 6 PS 5 Cl Solid‐State Electrolyte

This work elucidates the mechanism by which lithium borohydride (LiBH 4 ) doping into argyrodite-type Li 6 PS 5 Cl (LBH-LPSCl) solid-state electrolyte (SSE) enhances electrochemical stability. State-of-the-art electrochemical performance is achieved with 5 wt% borohydride. Symmetric cells achieve critical current density (CCD) of 7.3 mA cm −2 , versus 2.6 mA cm −2 for baseline-LPSCl. All solid-state batteries (ASSBs) employing lithium metal and NMC811 cathode are stable over 400 cycles at 0.5C, with capacity retention of 83%. An anode-free ASSB (AF-ASSB) is stable over 600 cycles, with capacity loss of 0.04% per cycle. 5LBH-LPSCl allows for enhanced low temperature operation, down to −14 °C. Yet the difference in electrolytes’ bulk microstructures and hardnesses are minimal, while ionic conductivity is incrementally improved (≈50%). Theoretical modeling indicates limited effect of substitution on thermodynamic stability of PS 4 3- units, which decompose when contacting Li. Instead, enhanced electrochemical stability is site-specific kinetic effect: In situ electrodeposition experiments using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) reveal tri-layer SEI based predominately on Li 3 P/LiBH 4 /Li 2 S that blocks electrons while facilitating ion transport. This SEI manifests reduced interface resistance and accelerated nucleation and growth of metallic Li. With baseline-LPSCl the SEI based on Li 3 P/Li 2 S is substantially thicker, generating localized stresses that promote interfacial cracking while cycling.

argyrodite↗

Electrolyte-Assisted Hydrogen Storage Reactions

Use of electrolytes, in the form of LiBH 4 /KBH 4 and LiI/KI/CsI eutectics, is shown to significantly improve (by more than a factor of 10) both the dehydrogenation and full rehydrogenation of the MgH 2 /Sn destabilized hydride system and the hydrogenation of MgB 2 to Mg(BH 4 ) 2 . The improvement revealed that interparticle transport of atoms heavier than hydrogen can be an important rate-limiting step during hydrogen cycling in hydrogen storage materials consisting of multiple phases in powder form. Electrolytes enable solubilizing heavy ions into a liquid environment and thereby facilitate the reaction over full surface areas of interacting particles. In conclusion, the examples presented suggest that use of electrolytes in the form of eutectics, ionic liquids, or solvents containing dissolved salts may be generally applicable for increasing reaction rates in complex and destabilized hydride materials.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Realizing high-capacity all-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries using a low-density inorganic solid-state electrolyte

Abstract Lithium-sulfur all-solid-state batteries using inorganic solid-state electrolytes are considered promising electrochemical energy storage technologies. However, developing positive electrodes with high sulfur content, adequate sulfur utilization, and high mass loading is challenging. Here, to address these concerns, we propose using a liquid-phase-synthesized Li 3 PS 4 -2LiBH 4 glass-ceramic solid electrolyte with a low density (1.491 g cm −3 ), small primary particle size (~500 nm) and bulk ionic conductivity of 6.0 mS cm −1 at 25 °C for fabricating lithium-sulfur all-solid-state batteries. When tested in a Swagelok cell configuration with a Li-In negative electrode and a 60 wt% S positive electrode applying an average stack pressure of ~55 MPa, the all-solid-state battery delivered a high discharge capacity of about 1144.6 mAh g −1 at 167.5 mA g −1 and 60 °C. We further demonstrate that the use of the low-density solid electrolyte increases the electrolyte volume ratio in the cathode, reduces inactive bulky sulfur, and improves the content uniformity of the sulfur-based positive electrode, thus providing sufficient ion conduction pathways for battery performance improvement.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗