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The impact of liquid electrolyte soaking on the interfacial resistance between the garnet-structured Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) solid electrolyte and metallic lithium has been studied. Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) formed by inadvertent exposure of LLZO to ambient conditions is generally known to increase interfacial impedance and decrease lithium wettability. Soaking LLZO powders and pellets in the electrolyte containing lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4) shows a significantly reduced interfacial resistance and improved contact between lithium and LLZO. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveal how Li2CO3 is continuously removed with increasing soaking time. On-line mass spectrometry and free energy calculations show how LiBF4 reacts with surface carbonate to form carbon dioxide. Using a very simple and scalable process that does not involve heat-treatment and expensive coating techniques, we show that the Li-LLZO interfacial resistance can be reduced by an order of magnitude.

The impact of liquid electrolyte soaking on the interfacial resistance between the garnet-structured Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) solid electrolyte and metallic lithium has been studied. Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) formed by inadvertent exposure of LLZO to ambient conditions is generally known to increase interfacial impedance and decrease lithium wettability. Soaking LLZO powders and pellets in the electrolyte containing lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4) shows a significantly reduced interfacial resistance and improved contact between lithium and LLZO. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveal how Li2CO3 is continuously removed with increasing soaking time. On-line mass spectrometry and free energy calculations show how LiBF4 reacts with surface carbonate to form carbon dioxide. Using a very simple and scalable process that does not involve heat-treatment and expensive coating techniques, we show that the Li-LLZO interfacial resistance can be reduced by an order of magnitude.

Understanding the reaction pathway and kinetics of solid-state phase transformation is critical in designing advanced electrode materials with better performance and stability. Despite the first-order phase transition with a large lattice mismatch between the involved phases, spinel LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 is capable of fast rate even at large particle size, presenting an enigma yet to be understood. The present study uses advanced two-dimensional and three-dimensional nano-tomography on a series of well-formed LixMn1.5Ni0.5O4 (0≤x≤1) crystals to visualize the mesoscale phase distribution, as a function of Li content at the sub-particle level. Inhomogeneity along with the coexistence of Li-rich and Li-poor phases are broadly observed on partially delithiated crystals, providing direct evidence for a concurrent nucleation and growth process instead of a shrinking-core or a particle-by-particle process. Superior kinetics of (100) facets at the vertices of truncated octahedral particles promote preferential delithiation, whereas the observation of strain-induced cracking suggests mechanical degradation in the material.

Understanding the reaction pathway and kinetics of solid-state phase transformation is critical in designing advanced electrode materials with better performance and stability. Despite the first-order phase transition with a large lattice mismatch between the involved phases, spinel LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 is capable of fast rate even at large particle size, presenting an enigma yet to be understood. The present study uses advanced two-dimensional and three-dimensional nano-tomography on a series of well-formed LixMn1.5Ni0.5O4 (0≤x≤1) crystals to visualize the mesoscale phase distribution, as a function of Li content at the sub-particle level. Inhomogeneity along with the coexistence of Li-rich and Li-poor phases are broadly observed on partially delithiated crystals, providing direct evidence for a concurrent nucleation and growth process instead of a shrinking-core or a particle-by-particle process. Superior kinetics of (100) facets at the vertices of truncated octahedral particles promote preferential delithiation, whereas the observation of strain-induced cracking suggests mechanical degradation in the material.