Extended anionic
frameworks based on condensation of polyhedral
main group non-metal anions offer a wide range of structure types.
Despite the widespread chemistry and earth abundance of phosphates
and silicates, there are no reports of extended ultraphosphate anions
with lithium. We describe the lithium ultraphosphates Li3P5O14 and Li4P6O17 based on extended layers and chains of phosphate, respectively.
Li3P5O14 presents a complex structure
containing infinite ultraphosphate layers with 12-membered rings that
are stacked alternately with lithium polyhedral layers. Two distinct
vacant tetrahedral sites were identified at the end of two distinct
finite Li6O16
26– chains. Li4P6O17 features a new type of loop-branched
chain defined by six PO4
3– tetrahedra.
The ionic conductivities and electrochemical properties of Li3P5O14 were examined by impedance spectroscopy
combined with DC polarization, NMR spectroscopy, and galvanostatic
plating/stripping measurements. The structure of Li3P5O14 enables three-dimensional lithium migration
that affords the highest ionic conductivity (8.5(5) × 10–7 S cm–1 at room temperature for
bulk), comparable to that of commercialized LiPON glass thin film
electrolytes, and lowest activation energy (0.43(7) eV) among all
reported ternary Li–P–O phases. Both new lithium ultraphosphates
are predicted to have high thermodynamic stability against oxidation,
especially Li3P5O14, which is predicted
to be stable to 4.8 V, significantly higher than that of LiPON and
other solid electrolytes. The condensed phosphate units defining these
ultraphosphate structures offer a new route to optimize the interplay
of conductivity and electrochemical stability required, for example,
in cathode coatings for lithium ion batteries.