Investigating Different Solvents for Liquid Phase Synthesis Routes of Lithium Indium Chloride Solid Electrolyte for Solid-State Batteries

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) have emerged as a promising technology that has the potential to revolutionise the area of energy storage by providing more safety, better energy density, and longer cycle life when compared to current lithium-ion batteries. Polymer, oxide, and sulfide-based solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) have been widely researched to aid in the development of solid-state batteries. However, these SSEs' drawbacks, such as high-temperature sintering of oxides, air instability of sulphides, and small electrochemical windows of polymer electrolytes, severely limit their practical implementation. As a result, it is necessary to design SSEs with strong ionic conductivity, good air stability, a wide electrochemical window, great electrode interface stability, and low-cost mass manufacturing. Because of their strong ionic conductivity and compatibility with high-voltage electrodes, halide electrolytes are emerging stars among inorganic solid-state electrolytes. However, as compared to liquid-mediated approaches, their traditional synthesis processes, such as ball-milling and annealing, are often more energy-intensive and time-consuming. Furthermore, the only approach in an aqueous solution is not ideal due to the negative effect of water traces on battery performance. We provide three comparison alternatives (Tetrahydrofuran, Acetonitrile, Ethanol, and Water) for the halide Li+ superionic conductor, Li3InCl6, with good ionic conductivities of 4.02, 3.67, 3.07, and 2.72 MilliSiemens per centimetre at ambient temperature respectively. In-addition, their ionic conductivities can be recovered after dissolution in their respective solvents. Combined with an NMC 622 cathode, the solid-state Li batteries show good cycling stability.