Lithium-ion transport in inorganic active fillers used in PEO-based composite solid electrolyte sheets

In this study, we evaluated the properties exhibited by a composite solid electrolyte (CSE) prepared via tailoring the particle size of an active filler, Li_6.4La₃Zr_1.4Ta_0.6O₁₂ (LLZTO). The average particle size was reduced to 2.53 μm via ball milling and exhibited a specific surface area of 3.013 m² g^-1. Various CSEs were prepared by combining PEO and LLZTO/BM-LLZTO. The calculated lithium ionic conductivity of the BM-LLZTO CSE was 6.0 × 10^-5 S cm^-1, which was higher than that exhibited by the LLZTO CSE (4.6 × 10^-5 S cm^-1). This result was confirmed via ⁷Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, during which lithium-ion transport pathways varied as a function of the particle size. NMR analysis showed that when BM-LLZTO was used, the migration of Li ions through the interface occurred at a fast rate owing to the small size of the constituent particles. During the Li/CSEs/Li symmetric cell experiment, the BM-LLZTO CSE exhibited lower overvoltage characteristics than the LLZTO CSE. A comparison of the characteristics exhibited by the LFP/CSEs/Li cells confirmed that the cells using BM-LLZTO exhibited high discharge capacity, rate performance, and cycling stability irrespective of the CSE thickness.