Sulfide Glass Solid Electrolyte Sheets for Dendrite-Resistant Batteries
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for high-performance lithium battery cells and components, particularly for secondary batteries with high energy density, where existing technologies face challenges in preventing lithium dendrite penetration and ensuring safety.
Innovation Solution
A standalone lithium ion-conductive solid electrolyte made from a freestanding inorganic vitreous sheet of sulfide-based lithium ion conducting glass, which provides high lithium ion conductivity while being resistant to lithium dendrite initiation and propagation, and is manufacturable in a cost-effective and scalable manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional battery components are used, then manufacturing is simpler and less costly, but lithium dendrite penetration occurs reducing safety
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameters by using sulfide-based glass compositions with specific ratios of Li2S, P2S5, and SiO2, achieving high lithium ion conductivity (≥10^-5 S/cm) while maintaining dendrite resistance. The glass transition temperature and viscosity parameters are optimized to enable both safety and manufacturability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite sulfide glass materials combining multiple components (Li2S, P2S5, SiO2, and optional additives like B2O3, GeO2, As2O3) to achieve synergistic effects that simultaneously provide high ionic conductivity, dendrite resistance, and processability
2Reliability
If high lithium ion conductivity is achieved, then battery performance improves, but dendrite resistance may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the chemical composition parameters of the sulfide glass, specifically maintaining Li2S content at 40-70 wt%, P2S5 at 10-30 wt%, and SiO2 at 5-20 wt%, which creates a glass matrix with appropriate free volume and bonding characteristics that simultaneously enable high Li+ conductivity and block dendrite propagation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates local structural variations within the glass matrix through the addition of different oxide components that modify the local coordination environment around lithium ions, providing high conductivity pathways while maintaining regions that resist dendrite penetration
3Reliability
If advanced solid electrolyte materials are used, then dendrite resistance improves, but manufacturing scalability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the glass transition phenomenon to enable processing of the sulfide electrolyte at elevated temperatures where the material becomes sufficiently viscous to be formed into thin films (1-50 μm), then quenches it to room temperature to lock in the amorphous structure that provides dendrite resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex multi-step mechanical pressing and sintering processes with a simplified melt-quench approach that uses thermal field control instead of mechanical field control, enabling continuous or batch production of thin-film electrolytes with consistent quality
4Quantity of substance
If thin film electrolyte structure is used, then energy density improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs self-leveling and self-smoothing properties of the molten glass that, when deposited or drawn into thin films, automatically eliminate thickness variations and surface defects through viscous flow, reducing the need for post-processing and improving film uniformity without requiring ultra-precise control equipment
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables the creation of safe lithium metal secondary battery cells by preventing lithium dendrite penetration, enhancing battery performance, and facilitating the production of scalable and cost-effective battery components with high energy density.
Implementation Method 1
lithium ion conductivity≥10−5 S/cm
Implementation Method 2
substantially impenetrable to lithium metal dendrites
Data Source
AI summary
A lithium ion-conductive solid electrolyte including a freestanding inorganic vitreous sheet of sulfide-based lithium ion conducting glass is capable of high performance in a lithium metal battery. Such an electrolyte is also manufacturable, and readily adaptable for battery cell and cell component manufacture, in a cost-effective, scalable manner using an automated machine based system, apparatus and methods based on inline spectrophotometry to assess and inspect the quality of such vitreous solid electrolyte sheets and associated components. Suitable manufacturing methods can involve multi-stage thinning of a sulfide glass preform that includes a first thinning operation that involves applying a compressive force onto the preform to form a glass sheet and a second thinning operation that involves applying a tensile force on the as-formed glass sheet (e.g., drawing the sheet by pulling).