Lithium, Speed & Interfaces—Designing Next Solid Battery Materials Real Fast with High Control of Chemistry

Next generation of energy storage devices may largely benefit from fast and solid Li⁺ceramic electrolyte conductors to allow for safe and efficient batteries. For those applications, the ability of Li-oxides to engineer their interfaces and be processed as thin film structures and with high control over Lithiation and phases at low temperature is of essence to control performance. Still, till date it takes globally for all academic and industry scientists and engineers between 7 to 15 years to enable any synthesis of Li-based oxide and sulfide battery compounds towards the optimized performance characteristics. With climate change on the rise and translating more shares to storing renewable energy in batteries and using sustainable materials, we have to reconsider the ways we select elements, synthesize at low CO₂footprints and shorten time-spans in translation of new materials to reach highest performances. Through this presentation we provide perspective on how high throughput synthesis and also machine learning (ML) enables fast sceening of properties and optimizing synthesis of solid battery material compounds at best performance characteristics. Also, we will critically review and discuss options of performance engineering at interfaces towards charge transfer and vs. current densities.<br/>In the first part we will look at various options on high throughput synthesis of battery materials and charactrisation routes to resolve bottlenecks and optimize performances. In the second part we propose ways to eingineer interfaces and dopants in the materials swiftly such as local chemistries at grain boundaries as a way to control majority and minority charge carriers at interfaces and within space chages to ultimately alter critical current densities of batteries. Or, in the opposite third part synthesize and design a new class of ‘high entropy” Li amorphous conductors without any grain boundaries. Through our analysis of the high throughput and ML assisted ceramic synthesis and characterization we provide a blueprint and demonstrate that it is not always the best ceramic battery material fabrication for production that is the best in ML-assisted screening in high throughput and give guidance. Moreover, the insights on solid state energy storage provide evidence for the functionalities that those Li-solid state material designs can have in new materials and synthesis for cost and mass manufacturable solid state and hybrid battery prototypes.<br/><br/><b>References for further reads</b><br/><br/><u>Highly disordered amorphous Li-battery electrolytes</u><br/>Y. Zhu, Z.D. Hood, H. Paik, P.B. Groszewicz, S.P. Emge, F.N. Sayed, C. Sun, M. Balaish, D. Ehre, L.J. Miara, A.I. Frenkel, I. Lubomirsky, C.P. Grey, J.L.M. Rupp<br/><b>Matter</b>, 7, 1–23 (2024)<br/><br/><u>Uncovering the Network Modifier for Highly Disordered Amorphous Li-Garnet Glass-Ceramics</u><br/>Y. Zhu , E.R. Kennedy , B. Yasar , H. Paik , Y. Zhang , Z.D. Hood, M. Scott , J.L.M. Rupp<br/><b>Advanced Materials</b>, 202302438 (2024)<br/><br/><u>Time–Temperature–Transformation (TTT) Diagram of Battery-Grade Li-Garnet Electrolytes for Low-Temperature Sustainable Synthesis</u><br/>Y. Zhu, M. Chon, C.V. Thompson, J.L.M. Rupp<br/><b>Angewandte Chemie</b>, 62, e2023045 (2023)<br/><br/><u>A sinter-free future for solid-state battery designs</u><br/>Z.D. Hood, Y. Zhu, L.J. Miara, W.S. Chang, P. Simons, J.L.M. Rupp<br/><b>Energy & Environmental Science</b>, 15, 2927-2936 (2022)<br/><br/><u>An investigation of chemo-mechanical phenomena and Li metal penetration in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries using in-situ optical curvature measurements</u><br/>J.H. Cho, K.J. Kim, S. Chakravarthy, X. Xiao, J.L.M. Rupp, B.W. Sheldon<br/><b>Advanced Energy Materials</b>, 2200369 (2022)<br/><u>Charging Sustainable Batteries</u><br/>C. Bauer et al. J.L.M. Rupp, S.Xu<br/><b>Nature Sustainability</b>, online (2022)