Rechargeable solid-state sodium-ion batteries (SSSBs) hold great promise for safer and more energy-dense energy storage. However, the poor electrochemical stability between current sulfide-based solid electrolytes and high-voltage oxide cathodes has limited their long-term cycling performance and practicality. Here, we report the discovery of the ion conductor Na3-xY1-xZrxCl6 (NYZC) that is both electrochemically stable (up to 3.8 V vs. Na/Na+) and chemically compatible with oxide cathodes. Its high ionic conductivity of 6.6 × 10−5 S cm−1 at ambient temperature, several orders of magnitude higher than oxide coatings, is attributed to abundant Na vacancies and cooperative MCl6 rotation, resulting in an extremely low interfacial impedance. A SSSB comprising a NaCrO2 + NYZC composite cathode, Na3PS4 electrolyte, and Na-Sn anode exhibits an exceptional first-cycle Coulombic efficiency of 97.1% at room temperature and can cycle over 1000 cycles with 89.3% capacity retention at 40 °C. These findings highlight the immense potential of halides for SSSB applications.

In the pursuit of urgently needed, energy dense solid-state batteries for electric vehicle and portable electronics applications, halide solid electrolytes offer a promising path forward with exceptional compatibility against high-voltage oxide electrodes, tunable ionic conductivities, and facile processing. For this family of compounds, synthesis protocols strongly affect cation site disorder and modulate Li + mobility. In this work, we reveal the presence of a high concentration of stacking faults in the superionic conductor Li 3 YCl 6 and demonstrate a method of controlling its Li + conductivity by tuning the defect concentration with synthesis and heat treatments at select temperatures. Leveraging complementary insights from variable temperature synchrotron X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, density functional theory, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, we identify the nature of planar defects and the role of nonstoichiometry in lowering Li + migration barriers and increasing Li site connectivity in mechanochemically synthesized Li 3 YCl 6 . We harness paramagnetic relaxation enhancement to enable 89 Y solid-state NMR and directly contrast the Y cation site disorder resulting from different preparation methods, demonstrating a potent tool for other researchers studying Y-containing compositions. With heat treatments at temperatures as low as 333 K (60 °C), we decrease the concentration of planar defects, demonstrating a simple method for tuning the Li + conductivity. Findings from this work are expected to be generalizable to other halide solid electrolyte candidates and provide an improved understanding of defect-enabled Li + conduction in this class of Li-ion conductors.

This is a techno-economic analysis of intercalative water deionization (IDI), a novel battery-inspired concept for brackish water desalination with lower module cost, volume, and energy consumption than competing technologies.

In the development of low cost, sustainable, and energy-dense batteries, chloride-based compounds are promising catholyte materials for solid-state batteries owing to their high Na-ion conductivities and oxidative stabilities. The ability...

The development of lithium-metal batteries with good performance and long lifetimes requires fundamental insight into the mechanisms underlying performance improvements from individual design strategies and the interactions between multiple improvement approaches. In this work, we investigated the individual and combined effects of applied pressure and a LiAsF6 electrolyte additive on the performance of anode-free lithium-metal batteries; we employed various pressure application methods, which vary both in magnitude and uniformity. Both approaches individually improve cycling performance of anode-free lithium-metal batteries. Pressure increases the cycling efficiency at both the anode and cathode by promoting improved morphologies, while the LiAsF6 additive additionally improves performance at the anode by enhancing the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) properties. The combination of uniform applied pressure and a LiAsF6 electrolyte additive produces lithium-metal batteries with cycling performance higher than can be achieved with either approach alone. This additional performance improvement is able to be realized due to the complementary rather than competitive nature of the mechanisms underlying applied pressure (lithium morphology) and electrolyte additives (SEI properties). Our results highlight the importance of moving beyond the investigation of isolated design strategies and demonstrate that superior cycling can be achieved by combining multiple approaches.