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1. Elastic Modulus, Hardness, and Fracture Toughness of Li _6.4 La ₃ Zr _1.4 Ta _0.6 O ₁₂ Solid Electrolyte

   https://doi.org/10.1088/0256-307X/38/9/098401  

   Hu, Shan; Xu, Pengyu; de Vasconcelos, Luize Scalco; Stanciu, Lia; Ni, Hongwei; Zhao, Kejie (October 2021, Chinese Physics Letters)

   Li 6.4 La 3 Zr 1.4 Ta 0.6 O 12 (LLZTO) is a promising inorganic solid electrolyte due to its high Li + conductivity and electrochemical stability for all-solid-state batteries. Mechanical characterization of LLZTO is limited by the synthesis of the condensed phase. Here we systematically measure the elastic modules, hardness, and fracture toughness of LLZTO polycrystalline pellets of different densities using the customized environmental nanoindentation. The LLZTO samples are sintered using the hot-pressing method with different amounts of Li 2 CO 3 additives, resulting in the relative density of the pellets varying from 83% to 98% and the largest grain size of 13.21 ± 5.22 μm. The mechanical properties show a monotonic increase as the sintered sample densifies, elastic modulus and hardness reach 158.47 ± 10.10 GPa and 11.27 ± 1.38 GPa, respectively, for LLZTO of 98% density. Similarly, fracture toughness increases from 0.44 to 1.51 MPa⋅m 1/2 , showing a transition from the intergranular to transgranular fracture behavior as the pellet density increases. The ionic conductivity reaches 4.54 × 10 −4 S/cm in the condensed LLZTO which enables a stable Li plating/stripping in a symmetric solid-state cell for over 100 cycles. This study puts forward a quantitative study of the mechanical behavior of LLZTO of different microstructures that is relevant to the mechanical stability and electrochemical performance of all-solid-state batteries. 

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2. Pristine Interface between Lithium Lanthanum Zirconate and Lithium Manganese Oxide by Pulsed Laser Deposition

   https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202500469  

   Dyer, Isaac D; Vahidi, Hasti; Paik, Haemin; Gobena, Hana T; Tafese, Bisrat N; Sakamoto, Jeff; Rupp, Jennifer_L M; Bowman, William J; Haile, Sossina M (June 2025, Advanced Materials Interfaces)

   Abstract Solid state lithium‐ion batteries have garnered increasing interest in recent years due to several potential advantages over liquid‐electrolyte based systems. The possibility of integrating the lithium garnet oxide, Li_6.75La₃Zr_1.75Ta_0.25O₁₂(LLZTO), with the high voltage cathode, spinel Li_xMn₂O₄(LMO), is evaluated here. Thin film bilayer structures are prepared by pulsed laser deposition on MgO (001) substrates and characterized by x‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The LLZTO is grown by an alternating layer‐by‐layer deposition of LLZTO and Li₃N and subsequently annealed for several hours at 575 °C to promote crystallinity. Growth of crystalline LMO with a pristine interface to LLZTO is achieved by gentle heat treatment (500 °C) to remove surface carbonate from the electrolyte and by cathode growth at a low temperature of 250 °C. Higher temperature depositions (330 – 450 °C) result in reaction between the two materials and the appearance of Li₂MnO₃, which may be in part due to the presence of excess lithium in the electrolyte layer. Because fully lithiated LiMn₂O₄has a voltage of ≈3.7 V versus Li+/Li, the observation of a well‐defined interface, free of impurity phases and with no interdiffusion of elements, indicates LLZTO is stable to at least 3.7 V. 

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3. Glass-like thermal transport in polycrystalline perovskite lithium-ion conductor Li _3/8 Sr _7/16 Hf _1/4 Ta _3/4 O ₃

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D5CC04693A  

   Wang, Yitian; Jia, Qianru; Li, Shuchen; Shi, Li; Li, Yutao; Chen, Xi (October 2025, Chemical Communications)

   Low, glass-like thermal conductivity was observed in the newly developed perovskite solid electrolyte Li_3/8Sr_7/16Hf_1/4Ta_3/4O₃. 

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4. Impact of impurities on the thermal properties of a Li ₂ S–SiS ₂ –LiPO ₃ glass

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ijag.16654  

   Wheaton, Jacob; Martin, Steve W (July 2024, International Journal of Applied Glass Science)

   Abstract The preparation of 0.58 Li₂S + 0.315 SiS₂+ 0.105 LiPO₃glass, and the impacts of polysulfide and P^1Pdefect structure impurities on the glass transition temperature (T_g), crystallization temperature (T_c), working range (ΔT≡ T_c‐ T_g), fragility index, and the Raman spectra were evaluated using statistical analysis. In this study, 33 samples of this glass composition were synthesized through melt‐quenching. Thermal analysis was conducted to determine the glass transition temperature, crystallization temperature, working range, and fragility index through differential scanning calorimetry. The quantity of the impurities described above was determined through Raman spectroscopy peak analysis. Elemental sulfur was doped into a glass to quantify the wt% sulfur content in the glasses. Linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the impact of polysulfide impurities and P^1Pdefect impurities on the thermal properties. Polysulfide impurities were found to decrease theT_gat rate of nearly 12°C per 1 wt% increase in sulfur concentration. The sulfur concentration does not have a statistically significant impact on the other properties (α = 0.05). The P^1Pdefect structure appears to decrease the resistance to crystallization of the glass by measurably decreasing the working range of the glasses, but further study is necessary to fully quantify and determine this. 

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5. A highly stable and conductive cerium‐doped Li ₇ P ₃ S ₁₁ glass‐ceramic electrolyte for solid‐state lithium–sulfur batteries

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.19712  

   Mirtaleb, Amirhossein; Wang, Ruigang (June 2024, Journal of the American Ceramic Society)

   Abstract In this report, a facile wet chemical method using acetonitrile combined with thermal annealing was used to prepare Li₂S‐P₂S₅(LPS) based glass‐ceramic electrolytes with (1 wt%, 3 wt%, and 5 wt% Ce₂S₃) and without Ce₂S₃doping. The crystal structure, ionic conductivity, and chemical stability of Li₇P₃S₁₁glass‐ceramic electrolytes were examined at varying temperatures (250–350°C). The results indicated that the highest ionic conductivity of 3.15 × 10⁻⁴S cm⁻¹for pure Li₇P₃S₁₁was observed at a temperature of 325°C. By incorporating 1 wt% Ce₂S₃and subjecting it to a heat treatment at 250°C, the glass ceramic electrolyte attained a remarkable ionic conductivity of 7.7 × 10⁻⁴(S cm⁻¹) at 25°C. Furthermore, it exhibited a stable and extensive electrochemical potential range, reaching up to 5 volts when compared to the Li/Li⁺reference electrode. By tuning the glass transition and crystallization temperature, cerium doping seems to make Li₇P₃S₁₁more chemically stable, compared to its original 70Li₂S‐30P₂S₅counterpart. According to Raman and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses, cerium doping inhibits the decomposition of highly conductive P₂S₇^4‐(pyro‐thiophosphate) to PS₄³⁻and P₂S₆⁴⁻. Doped LPS has a greater crystallinity and more uniform microstructure than pure LPS, according to XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy analysis. Consequently, Li₇P_2.9Ce_0.1S₁₁electrolyte shows great potential as a solid‐state electrolyte for constructing high‐performance sulfide‐based all‐solid‐state batteries. 

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