New Design Offers "Solid" Advantage.

• Position: LITHIUM BATTERIES - Brief article

Most lithium batteries consist of a liquid sandwiched between two solid materials. That conventional paradigm may be about to get some competition, however, as scientists have begun to investigate batteries that consist of all-solid materials.

Solid-state lithium batteries offer several advantages over those that use a liquid electrolyte; most notably they allow for the use of lithium metal anodes that can store more energy in a smaller volume. Much of the chemical behavior of solid-state batteries remains unexplored, and scientists have turned their attention to the regions between the battery's anode and its solid electrolyte.

In a study from the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, researchers have identified a new boundary layer that emerges between a lithium metal anode and a lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO) electrolyte.

This boundary layer resembles the solid-electrolyte interphase region that exists in liquid-electrolyte batteries and that often dramatically impacts performance. Like the solid-electrolyte...