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Correction to: Nature Materialshttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-024-01800-8, published online 2 February 2024. In the version of the article initially published, the x axes in Figs. 2b,d and 5a,b originally read “T−1 (K−1)” and have now been amended to “1000 T−1 (K−1)” in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

Oxides with a face-centred cubic (fcc) anion sublattice are generally not considered as solid-state electrolytes as the structural framework is thought to be unfavourable for lithium (Li) superionic conduction. Here we demonstrate Li superionic conductivity in fcc-type oxides in which face-sharing Li configurations have been created through cation over-stoichiometry in rocksalt-type lattices via excess Li. We find that the face-sharing Li configurations create a novel spinel with unconventional stoichiometry and raise the energy of Li, thereby promoting fast Li-ion conduction. The over-stoichiometric Li-In-Sn-O compound exhibits a total Li superionic conductivity of 3.38 × 10-4 S cm-1 at room temperature with a low migration barrier of 255 meV. Our work unlocks the potential of designing Li superionic conductors in a prototypical structural framework with vast chemical flexibility, providing fertile ground for discovering new solid-state electrolytes.

The emergence of high-entropy materials has inspired the exploration of novel materials in diverse technologies. In electrochemical energy storage, high-entropy design has shown advantageous impacts on battery materials such as suppressing undesired short-range order, frustrating energy landscape, decreasing volumetric change and reducing the reliance on critical metals. This comment addresses the definition and potential improper use of the term “high entropy” in the context of battery materials design, highlights the unique properties of high-entropy materials in battery applications, and outlines the remaining challenges in the synthesis, characterization, and computational modeling of high-entropy battery materials.

Metastable polymorphs often result from the interplay between thermodynamics and kinetics. Despite advances in predictive synthesis for solution-based techniques, there remains a lack of methods to design solid-state reactions targeting metastable materials. Here, we introduce a theoretical framework to predict and control polymorph selectivity in solid-state reactions. This framework presents reaction energy as a rarely used handle for polymorph selection, which influences the role of surface energy in promoting the nucleation of metastable phases. Through in situ characterization and density functional theory calculations on two distinct synthesis pathways targeting LiTiOPO4, we demonstrate how precursor selection and its effect on reaction energy can effectively be used to control which polymorph is obtained from solid-state synthesis. A general approach is outlined to quantify the conditions under which metastable polymorphs are experimentally accessible. With comparison to historical data, this approach suggests that using appropriate precursors could enable targeted materials synthesis across diverse chemistries through selective polymorph nucleation.

Chemical short-range-order has been widely noticed to dictate the electrochemical properties of Li-excess cation-disordered rocksalt oxides, a class of cathode based on earth abundant elements for next-generation high-energy-density batteries. Existence of short-range-order is normally evidenced by a diffused intensity pattern in reciprocal space, however, derivation of local atomic arrangements of short-range-order in real space is hardly possible. Here, by a combination of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, and cluster-expansion Monte Carlo simulations, we reveal the short-range-order is a convolution of three basic types: tetrahedron, octahedron, and cube. We discover that short-range-order directly correlates with Li percolation channels, which correspondingly affects Li transport behavior. We further demonstrate that short-range-order can be effectively manipulated by anion doping or post-synthesis thermal treatment, creating new avenues for tailoring the electrochemical properties. Our results provide fundamental insights for decoding the complex relationship between local chemical ordering and properties of crystalline compounds.

Amorphous Li-P-S materials have been widely used as solid-state electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries because of their high ionic conductivity (10-4 to 10-3 S cm-1) as well as good synthetic accessibility and processability. Despite the potential of these materials, their amorphous structures have made it challenging to quantify the relation between the structure and conductivity. In this paper, we use ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the role of the local structure and density in determining the conductivity of amorphous Li-P-S structures with different polyanion units. We observe similar rates for Li-ion hopping regardless of the local P-S polyanion environment in these amorphous materials, indicating that the path connectivity at a larger length scale may be controlling the overall Li conductivity. This finding will serve as an important guideline in the continued development of amorphous solid electrolytes for advanced all-solid-state batteries.

Na Super Ionic Conductor (NASICON) materials are an important class of solid-state electrolytes owing to their high ionic conductivity and superior chemical and electrochemical stability. In this paper, we combine first-principles calculations, experimental synthesis and testing, and natural language-driven text-mined historical data on NASICON ionic conductivity to achieve clear insights into how chemical composition influences the Na-ion conductivity. These insights, together with a high-throughput first-principles analysis of the compositional space over which NASICONs are expected to be stable, lead to the successful synthesis and electrochemical investigation of several new NASICONs solid-state conductors. Among these, a high ionic conductivity of 1.2 mS cm-1 could be achieved at 25 °C. We find that the ionic conductivity increases with average metal size up to a certain value and that the substitution of PO4 polyanions by SiO4 also enhances the ionic conductivity. While optimal ionic conductivity is found near a Na content of 3 per formula unit, the exact optimum depends on other compositional variables. Surprisingly, the Na content enhances the ionic conductivity mostly through its effect on the activation barrier, rather than through the carrier concentration. These deconvoluted design criteria may provide guidelines for the design of optimized NASICON conductors.

Superionic conductors are key to the development of safe and high-energy-density, all-solid-state batteries. Using a combined theoretical and experimental approach, we explore the feasibility of increasing the ionic conductivity through pseudohalogen substitution in the Li argyrodite structure. Under the guidance of calculated thermodynamic stability, BH4-substituted Li argyrodite, Li5.91PS4.91(BH4)1.09, was successfully synthesized via a mechanochemical method. As-synthesized BH4-substituted Li argyrodite displays an ionic conductivity of 4.8 mS/cm at 25°C. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulation trajectory analysis was used to investigate how BH4 facilitates Li-ion diffusion and indicates only a weak correlation with the B–H bond motion. We find that the enhanced conductivity mainly originates from the weak interaction between Li and BH4 and find no evidence of a paddle-wheel effect from the polyanion. This work provides insight into how cluster ions enhance Li diffusion and systematically describes how to explore superionic conductors with pseudohalogen substitution.

The cluster expansion (CE) method has seen continuous and increasing use in the study of configuration-dependent properties of crystalline materials. The original development of the CE method along with the underlying mathematical formalism and assumptions was focused on the study of metallic alloys. Since then the methodology has been actively and successfully used in the study of ionic materials as well. In this work, we present a cohesive reformulation of the mathematical formalism underlying the CE method based on a synthesis of its original formulation, several additions and extensions that have been proposed since, and a revised representation of its constituent mathematical objects. We then proceed to describe some of the formal implications of using the methodology for charge-neutral configurations in ionic systems. In particular, we discuss the reduction of the size of configuration spaces and the resulting linear dependencies that arise among correlation functions that span the larger unconstrained configuration space. Additionally, we explore the effects of long-range electrostatic interactions. We also demonstrate how the previously proposed use of a point electrostatic term successfully accounts for the majority of the longer-range electrostatic interactions, and leaves the cluster expansion terms to capture mostly short-range interactions. Finally, we present and discuss a variety of recently developed methodologies, including training structure selection, oxidation state assignment, structure mapping, and regression algorithms, that are necessary to address these formal mathematical notions for a practical implementation of the CE method in the study of multicomponent ionic materials.

We have designed and tested several synthesis routes targeting a highly fluorinated disordered rocksalt (DRX) cathode, Li1.2Mn0.4Ti0.4O1.6F0.4, with each route rationalized by thermochemical analysis. Precursor combinations were screened to raise the F chemical potential and avoid the formation of LiF, which inhibits fluorination of the targeted DRX phase. MnF2 was used as a reactive source of F, and Li6MnO4, LiMnO2, and Li2Mn0.33Ti0.66O3 were tested as alternative Li sources. Each synthesis procedure was monitored using a multi-modal suite of characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. From the resulting data, we advance the understanding of oxyfluoride synthesis by outlining the key factors limiting F solubility. At low temperatures, MnF2 consistently reacts with the Li source to form LiF as an intermediate phase, thereby trapping F in strong Li-F bonds. LiF can react with Li2TiO3 to form a highly lithiated and fluorinated DRX (Li3TiO3F); however, MnO is not easily incorporated into this DRX phase. Although higher temperatures typically increase solubility, the volatility of LiF above its melting point (848 °C) inhibits fluorination of the DRX phase. Based on these findings, metastable synthesis techniques are suggested for future work on DRX fluorination.

Relating the synthesis conditions of materials to their functional performance has long been an experience-based trial-and-error process. However, this methodology is not always efficient in identifying an appropriate protocol and can lead to overlooked opportunities for the performance optimization of materials through simple modifications of the synthesis process. In this work, the authors systematically track the structural evolution in the synthesis of a representative disordered rock salt (a promising next-generation Li-ion cathode material) at the scale of both the long-range crystal structure and the short-range atomic structure using various in situ and ex situ techniques, including transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and pair distribution function analysis. An optimization strategy is proposed for the synthesis protocol, leading to a remarkably enhanced capacity (specific energy) of 313 mAh g−1 (987 Wh kg−1) at a low rate (20 mA g−1), with a capacity of more than 140 mAh g−1 retained even at a very high cycling rate of 2000 mA g−1. This strategy is further rationalized using ab initio calculations, and important opportunities for synthetic optimization demonstrated in this study are highlighted.

Discovering high-energy cathode materials is critical to construct K-ion batteries for practical applications. Owing to the great success of layered oxides in Li- and Na-ion systems, K layered cathodes have also been investigated in recent years. However, the much larger size of K+compared to Li or Na introduces strong K+-K+interaction within the layer, which results in a sloped voltage profile thereby limiting the specific capacity and operating voltage. In contrast, polyanionic materials with a three-dimensional K+arrangement can effectively mitigate K+-K+interaction. In this work, ten K polyanionic compounds with theoretical capacity >100 mA h g−1are screened from the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database as potential cathode materials for K-ion batteries. Among the ten proposed compounds,K2MnP2O7,K2Mn2P2O7F2,K2Fe2P2O7F2, andK6V2(PO4)4with average voltage

The tremendous improvement in performance and cost of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have made them the technology of choice for electrical energy storage. While established battery chemistries and cell architectures for Li-ion batteries achieve good power and energy density, LIBs are unlikely to meet all the performance, cost, and scaling targets required for energy storage, in particular, in large-scale applications such as electrified transportation and grids. The demand to further reduce cost and/or increase energy density, as well as the growing concern related to natural resource needs for Li-ion have accelerated the investigation of so-called "beyond Li-ion" technologies. In this review, we will discuss the recent achievements, challenges, and opportunities of four important "beyond Li-ion" technologies: Na-ion batteries, K-ion batteries, all-solid-state batteries, and multivalent batteries. The fundamental science behind the challenges, and potential solutions toward the goals of a low-cost and/or high-energy-density future, are discussed in detail for each technology. While it is unlikely that any given new technology will fully replace Li-ion in the near future, "beyond Li-ion" technologies should be thought of as opportunities for energy storage to grow into mid/large-scale applications.

High-entropy (HE) ceramics, by analogy with HE metallic alloys, are an emerging class of solid solutions composed of a large number of species. These materials offer the benefit of large compositional flexibility and can be used in a wide variety of applications, including thermoelectrics, catalysts, superionic conductors and battery electrodes. We show here that the HE concept can lead to very substantial improvements in performance in battery cathodes. Among lithium-ion cathodes, cation-disordered rocksalt (DRX)-type materials are an ideal platform within which to design HE materials because of their demonstrated chemical flexibility. By comparing a group of DRX cathodes containing two, four or six transition metal (TM) species, we show that short-range order systematically decreases, whereas energy density and rate capability systematically increase, as more TM cation species are mixed together, despite the total metal content remaining fixed. A DRX cathode with six TM species achieves 307 mAh g-1 (955 Wh kg-1) at a low rate (20 mA g-1), and retains more than 170 mAh g-1 when cycling at a high rate of 2,000 mA g-1. To facilitate further design in this HE DRX space, we also present a compatibility analysis of 23 different TM ions, and successfully synthesize a phase-pure HE DRX compound containing 12 TM species as a proof of concept.

Using both computations and experiments, we demonstrate that the performance of Li-excess cation-disordered rocksalt cathodes can be improved by Mg substitution. Mg reduces the amount of Li in the compound that is strongly bound to F and thereby increases the capacity. This enables the use of fluorination as a tool to improve stability of the compounds without significant loss of capacity. Mg emerged as the most optimal substitution element from a systematic computational study aimed at identifying inactive doping elements with a strong enough bonding strength to fluorine to displace Li from the F environments. Our results also show that capacity can be traded for cycle life depending on whether Mg is substituted for Li or for the redox metal. This design strategy should be considered in fluorinated cathodes, which will facilitate the design of optimized disordered rocksalt oxyfluoride cathodes.

In the synthesis of inorganic materials, reactions often yield non-equilibrium kinetic byproducts instead of the thermodynamic equilibrium phase. Understanding the competition between thermodynamics and kinetics is a fundamental step towards the rational synthesis of target materials. Here, we use in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction to investigate the multistage crystallization pathways of the important two-layer (P2) sodium oxides Na0.67MO2 (M = Co, Mn). We observe a series of fast non-equilibrium phase transformations through metastable three-layer O3, O3' and P3 phases before formation of the equilibrium two-layer P2 polymorph. We present a theoretical framework to rationalize the observed phase progression, demonstrating that even though P2 is the equilibrium phase, compositionally unconstrained reactions between powder precursors favour the formation of non-equilibrium three-layered intermediates. These insights can guide the choice of precursors and parameters employed in the solid-state synthesis of ceramic materials, and constitutes a step forward in unravelling the complex interplay between thermodynamics and kinetics during materials synthesis.

This work investigates the electrochemical Na+/K+ ion exchange mechanism occurring in layered Na3Ni2SbO6. Structural characterizations using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy uncover a remarkable and rich phase evolution as K is inserted in partially desodiated NaxNi2SbO6. Rather than simple addition of K to the structure, we see significant Na rearrangement, with discrete Na phases traversing the full range of Na compositions, even though the overall Na content in the sample is not changed. At any given time as much as three distinct phases can be present in the sample, consistent with thermodynamic equilibrium rules. Using DFT computations we demonstrate that this remarkable phase behavior during ion exchange is due to the repulsion between Na+ and K+ which creates distinct phases of them. Our analysis should be applicable to other ion-exchange systems where the exchanged ions are not well miscible in the host structure.

The discovery of promising inorganic superionic conductors for use as solid-state electrolytes can enable the design of safe and high-energy-density solid-state batteries. Li argyrodites with the composition Li-P-S-X (X = Cl, Br, or I) have been found to have an ionic conductivity of up to 14.8 mS/cm, indicating the ability of the argyrodite framework to conduct alkali-metal ions. However, the sodium version of argyrodites remains unexplored. In this work, using first-principles density functional theory calculations, we examine the phase stability, electrochemical stability, and ionic conductivity of 48 potential Na argyrodites with different pnictogen, chalcogen, and halogen chemistries and site occupancies. We find that for sulfide-based Na argyrodites, the compounds with halogens occupying both the 4a and 4c sites typically display better ionic conductivity. However, the larger size of the Se2- anion makes selenide-based Na argyrodites less-dependent on the exact halogen-site occupancy. Most of the Na argyrodites have positive zero-K formation energy but are within the typical energy where compounds, including the Li argyrodite, can be synthesized. We find that compounds within the Na-P-Se-X (X = Cl, Br, or I) chemical space may form a good compromise between ionic conductivity, phase stability, and synthesizability.

Fluorine substitution is a critical enabler for improving the cycle life and energy density of disordered rocksalt (DRX) Li-ion battery cathode materials which offer prospects for high energy density cathodes, without the reliance on limited mineral resources. Due to the strong Li–F interaction, fluorine also is expected to modify the short-range cation order in these materials which is critical for Li-ion transport. In this work, density functional theory and Monte Carlo simulations are combined to investigate the impact of Li–F short-range ordering on the formation of Li percolation and diffusion in DRX materials. The modeling reveals that F substitution is always beneficial at sufficiently high concentrations and can, surprisingly, even facilitate percolation in compounds without Li excess, giving them the ability to incorporate more transition metal redox capacity and thereby higher energy density. It is found that for F levels below 15%, its effect can be beneficial or disadvantageous depending on the intrinsic short-range order in the unfluorinated oxide, while for high fluorination levels the effects are always beneficial. Using extensive simulations, a map is also presented showing the trade-off between transition-metal capacity, Li-transport, and synthetic accessibility, and two of the more extreme predictions are experimentally confirmed.

Mn-based Li-excess cation-disordered rocksalt (DRX) oxyfluorides are promising candidates for next-generation rechargeable battery cathodes owing to their large energy densities, the earth abundance, and low cost of Mn. In this work, we synthesized and electrochemically tested four representative compositions in the Li-Mn-O-F DRX chemical space with various Li and F content. While all compositions achieve higher than 200 mAh g−1 initial capacity and good cyclability, we show that the Li-site distribution plays a more important role than the metal-redox capacity in determining the initial capacity, whereas the metal-redox capacity is more closely related to the cyclability of the materials. We apply these insights and generate a capacity map of the Li-Mn-O-F chemical space, LixMn2-xO2-yFy (1.167 ≤ x ≤ 1.333, 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.667), which predicts both accessible Li capacity and Mn-redox capacity. This map allows the design of compounds that balance high capacity with good cyclability.

The potential application of monolayer MS2 (M = Mo, W) as thermoelectric material has been widely studied since the first report of successful fabrication. However, their performances are hindered by the considerable band gap and the large lattice thermal conductivity in the pristine 2H phase. Recent discoveries of polymorphism in MS2s provide new opportunities for materials engineering. In this work, phonon and electron transport properties of both 2H and 1T′ phases were investigated by first-principle calculations. It is found that upon the phase transition from 2H to 1T′ in MS2, the electron transport is greatly enhanced, while the lattice thermal conductivity is reduced by several times. These features lead to a significant enhancement of power factor by one order of magnitude in MoS2 and by three times in WS2. Meanwhile, the figure of merit can reach up to 0.33 for 1T′–MoS2 and 0.68 for 1T′–WS2 at low temperature. These findings indicate that monolayer MS2 in the 1T′ phase can be promising materials for thermoelectric devices application. Meanwhile, this work demonstrates that phase engineering techniques can bring in one important control parameter in materials design.