“These characteristics create a ‘soft lattice’ that maintains high lithium diffusion rates even as the composition changes during battery cycling,” remarked the researchers.
The team noticed that lithium stripping and plating preferentially occurred during battery cycling at the interface between the LixAg alloy and the current collector rather than at the delicate LLZTO/LixAg interface.
“This phenomenon effectively protects the critical electrolyte-anode interface from contact loss during cycling, a common failure mechanism in solid-state batteries,” highlighted the press release.
Excellent cycling stability, rate performance
To demonstrate the practical potential of their innovation, the researchers constructed full cells using LiFePO4 cathodes, LLZTO electrolytes, and LixAg anodes.
These cells exhibited excellent cycling stability and rate performance and confirmed the viability of this approach for real-world applications.