Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have developed a protective coating technique designed to enhance the stability of sulfide-based solid electrolytes used in solid-state batteries. Solid-state batteries rely on solid electrolytes to facilitate ion transport and promise improvements in energy density, safety, and cycle life compared with conventional lithium-ion systems. However, sulfide-based electrolytes such as lithium phosphorus sulfur chloride (LPSCl) are highly sensitive to moisture and oxygen, typically requiring manufacturing environments maintained below –40 °C, which drives up production costs.
To address this challenge, the Argonne team applied atomic layer deposition (ALD) to deposit an ultrathin layer of aluminum oxide onto electrolyte particles. “Our research shows that even a very thin coating — just a few nanometers thick — can act as a strong barrier, keeping the electrolyte intact and boosting its performance,” said Argonne materials scientist Justin Connell. “This breakthrough can extend battery life and lower manufacturing costs by allowing production in less controlled environments.”
The ability to work with these materials in less controlled environments is a key advantage. Materials scientist Zachary Hood noted that handling these materials under harsher conditions would simplify manufacturing. “It would allow manufacturers to use existing infrastructure, similar to what is used for lithium-ion batteries,” he said. “This would result in significant savings in the upfront cost of factories, while also improving reliability.”
The Argonne researchers are now working on scaling up the ALD coating method. They have partnered with a commercial collaborator to produce larger quantities of coated electrolyte for demonstration in larger battery formats. Future studies will explore additional coating chemistries to further optimize interfacial stability and performance in next-generation solid-state cells.
Source: Business Wire
