Scientists identify solid electrolyte materials that boost lithium-ion battery performance

TechXplore  September 22, 2020
To find reliable solid electrolytes a team of researchers in the US (Stanford University, industry) trained a computer algorithm to screen more than 12,000 lithium-containing compounds in a materials database. Within minutes the algorithm identified approximately 20 promising materials, including four little-known compounds made of lithium, boron and sulfur. They studied four compounds using density functional theory, which simulates how the materials would behave at the atomic level. Their findings include the following: Lithium-boron-sulfur electrolytes could be about twice as stable as the leading solid electrolytes; When mixed together, the four lithium-boron-sulfur compounds would continue functioning even as they decompose; As the four compounds are chemically similar when the mixture breaks down, each compound will likely transform from a good conductor to another good conductor to another; The materials can withstand several cycles of breaking down before they decompose. The study provides a theoretical roadmap for future research...read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE

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