To achieve the record conductivity, the team created a novel material composed of lithium, antimony, and scandium.
Solid-state batteries have long promised a safer and faster future. Now, a German breakthrough may finally put them in the fast lane.Scientists at the Technical University of Munich and TUM int.Energy Research have developed a record-breaking solid-state battery material that conducts lithium ions over 30 percent faster than any known alternative.
To achieve the record conductivity, the team created a novel material composed of lithium, antimony, and scandium.By partially replacing lithium atoms in a lithium antimonide compound with scandium, the team led by Prof. Thomas F. Fässler from the Chair of Inorganic Chemistry with a Focus on Novel Materials introduced tiny vacancies—or gaps—in the crystal lattice of the conductor material.Vacancies supercharge ion flowThese engineered vacancies allow lithium ions to travel more freely through the structure, boosting ion mobility as compared to previously known materialsThis breakthrough sets a new world record for lithium-ion conductivity in solid-state materials—a critical metric for enabling faster charging and more efficient energy storage.Given how far the results exceeded known benchmarks, the team turned to colleagues at the Chair of Technical Electrochemistry at TUM, led by Prof. Hubert Gasteiger, to independently validate the findings.“Because the material also conducts electricity, it presented a special challenge, and we had to adapt our measurement methods accordingly,” Tobias Kutsch, co-author of the study who led the validation tests, said in a release.Blueprint for future materialsThe material’s exceptional ion mobility could play a pivotal role in advancing future energy storage systems, making batteries faster, safer, and more efficient.The team believes this discovery could mark a turning point in solid-state battery research. “By incorporating small amounts of scandium, we have uncovered a new principle that could prove to be a blueprint for other elemental combinations. While many tests are still needed before the material can be used in battery cells, we are optimistic,” Fässler said.“Materials that conduct both ions and electrons are particularly well suited as additives in electrodes. Because of the promising practical applications, we’ve already filed a patent for our development.”Besides its record-breaking conductivity, the material is thermally stable and can be synthesized using well-established chemical processes.The research also enabled the scientists to discover new class of substances that could enhance ion conductivity across a wider range of lithium-based materials using simpler elemental combinations.“Our combination consists of lithium-antimony, but the same concept can easily be applied to lithium-phosphorus systems. While the previous record holder relied on lithium-sulphur and required five additional elements for optimization, we only need only Scandium as an additional component,” Jingwen Jiang, scientist at TUMint.Energy Research and the lead author of the study, said“We believe that our discovery could have broader implications for enhancing conductivity in a wide range of other materials.”The funding for the research was provided by the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs and Regional Development and Energy.The study has been published in the journal Advanced Energy Materials.
Battery Materials Crystal Lattice Energy Storage Ion Conductivity Lithium Ions Scandium Solid-State Batteries Thermal Stability TUM
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