High-Temperature Ultrafast Sintering: Exploiting a New Kinetic Region to Fabricate Porous Solid-State Electrolyte...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Battery Technology

Background:

• Solid-state batteries (SSBs) offer enhanced safety and energy density compared to conventional batteries.
• 3D porous scaffolds made of ceramic solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) are crucial for practical SSB implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a general and facile method for sintering 3D porous ceramic SSE scaffolds.
• To enable rapid sintering of various ceramic SSEs on diverse substrates at high temperatures.

Main Methods:

• A novel high-temperature, short-duration sintering process.
• Utilizing rapid reactive sintering for desired crystalline phases and controlled grain neck growth.
• Preserving porous structures by limiting coarsening and volatile element loss.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a general method for sintering 3D porous scaffolds with various ceramic SSEs.
• Achieved rapid sintering (seconds) at high temperatures, enabling precise control over densification.
• Fabricated a composite SSE with good ionic conductivity (≈1.9 × 10^-4 S cm^-1) using a 3D porous Li_6.5 La₃ Zr_1.5 Ta_0.5 O₁₂ scaffold.

Conclusions:

• The developed method facilitates the sintering of diverse ceramic-SSE-based 3D scaffolds.
• This approach is promising for advancing the development of all-solid-state batteries.
• The technique offers precise control over scaffold properties, crucial for SSB performance.