Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 18, 2026
Electric-field Control of Electronic States in WS2 Nanodevices by Electrolyte Gating
Published on: April 12, 2018
Introducing Jahn-Teller Distortion in Inorganic Solid-State Electrolytes to Improve Ionic Conductivity
Xiaolong Xu1, Zhiliang Xiu1, Huaping Zhao2
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China.
Abstract:
The Jahn-Teller distortion, a geometric distortion in crystals to lower the energy in a specific electronic configuration, is avoided in electrode materials as it damages the battery under an electric field. In contrast to its conventional role in electrodes, we pioneer the reasonable application of Jahn-Teller distortion to solve the sodium ion transmission issues caused by grain boundaries and voids of inorganic solid-state electrolytes (ISEs) in solid-state batteries. Based on high-spin manganese ions (Mn3+), it reveals that expanding interplanar spacing and forming the Mn3+ doped Na3Zr2Si2PO12 (NZSPM) glassy phases among NZSPM crystalline grains through introducing Jahn-Teller distortion significantly enhances sodium ion transport by widening the sodium ion transport channel, weakening grain boundaries, and eliminating voids in ISEs. As-formed NZSPM crystal-NZSPM glass (C-G) ISE provides an ionic conductivity of 0.498 mS cm-1. Moreover, the Na||C-G||NaNi1/3Fe1/3Mn1/3O2(NFM) cell delivers the performance comparable to traditional batteries (e.g.,>120 mAh g-1 at 0.1 C), but no dendrites are formed. Our findings advance the understanding of Jahn-Teller distortion and provide guidelines for designing the nano-microstructure of functional materials.
Related Concept Videos
02:54Molecular and Ionic Solids
Molecular Solids
Molecular crystalline solids, such as ice, sucrose (table sugar), and iodine, are solids that are composed of neutral molecules as their constituent units. These molecules are held together by weak intermolecular forces such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonds, which...
02:46Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
02:42Ionic Crystal Structures
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
03:08Electrolytes: van't Hoff Factor
The colligative properties of a solution depend only on the number, not on the identity, of solute species dissolved. The concentration terms in the equations for various colligative properties (freezing point depression, boiling point elevation, osmotic pressure) pertain to all solute species present in the solution. Nonelectrolytes dissolve physically without dissociation or any other accompanying process. Each molecule that dissolves yields one...
03:45Formation of Complex Ions