Mechanochemically synthesized fluorides: local structures and ion transport

The performance of new sensors or advanced electrochemical energy storage devices strongly depends on the active materials chosen to realize such systems. In particular, their morphology may greatly influence their overall macroscopic properties. Frequently, limitations in classical ways of chemical preparation routes hamper the development of materials with tailored properties. Fortunately, such hurdles can be overcome by mechanochemical synthesis. The versatility of mechanosynthesis allows the provision of compounds that are not available through common synthesis routes. The mechanical treatment of two or three starting materials in high-energy ball mills enables the synthesis not only of new compounds but also of nanocrystalline materials with unusual properties such as enhanced ion dynamics. Fast ion transport is of crucial importance in electrochemical energy storage. It is worth noting that mechanosynthesis also provides access to metastable phases that cannot be synthesized by conventional solid state synthesis. Ceramic synthesis routes often yield the thermally, i.e., thermodynamically, stable products rather than metastable compounds. In this perspective we report the mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline fluorine ion conductors that serve as model substances to understand the relationship between local structures and ion dynamics. While ion transport properties were complementarily probed via conductivity spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic relaxation, local structures of the phases prepared were investigated by high-resolution (19)F NMR spectroscopy carried out by fast magic angle spinning. The combination of nuclear and non-nuclear techniques also helped us to shed light on the mechanisms controlling mechanochemical reactions in general.

Dimer-mediated cation diffusion in the stoichiometric ionic conductor Li3N

Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics has identified the different diffusion mechanisms that operate in Li₃N and elucidated the key role played by transient Li₂ dimers.

Correlated fluorine diffusion and ionic conduction in the nanocrystalline F(-) solid electrolyte Ba(0.6)La(0.4)F(2.4)-(19)F T1(ρ) NMR relaxation vs. conductivity measurements

Chemical reactions induced by mechanical treatment may give access to new compounds whose properties are governed by chemical metastability, defects introduced and the size effects present. Their interplay may lead to nanocrystalline ceramics with enhanced transport properties being useful to act as solid electrolytes. Here, the introduction of large amounts of La into the cubic structure of BaF2 served as such an example. The ion transport properties in terms of dc-conductivity values of the F(-) anion conductor Ba1-xLaxF2+x (here with x = 0.4) considerably exceed those of pure, nanocrystalline BaF2. So far, there is only little knowledge about activation energies and jump rates of the elementary hopping processes. Here, we took advantage of both impedance spectroscopy and (19)F NMR relaxometry to get to the bottom of ion jump diffusion proceeding on short-range and long-range length scales in Ba0.6La0.4F2.4. While macroscopic transport is governed by an activation energy of 0.55 to 0.59 eV, the elementary steps of hopping seen by NMR are characterised by much smaller activation energies. Fortunately, we were able to deduce an F(-) self-diffusion coefficient by the application of spin-locking NMR relaxometry.

Li ion dynamics along the inner surfaces of layer-structured 2H-LixNbS2

Layer-structured materials, such as graphite (LiCy) or Lix(Co,Ni,Mn)O2, are important electrode materials in current battery research that still relies on insertion materials. This is due to their excellent ability to reversibly accommodate small alkali ions such as Li(+) and Na(+). Despite of these applications, microscopic information on Li ion self-diffusion in transition metal sulfides are relatively rare. Here, we used (7)Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study translational Li ion diffusion in hexagonal (2H) LixNbS2 (x = 0.3, 0.7, and 1) by means of variable-temperature NMR relaxometry. (7)Li spin-lattice relaxation rates and (7)Li NMR spectra were used to determine Li jump rates and activation barriers as a function of Li content. Hereby, NMR spin-lattice relaxation rates recorded with the spin-lock technique offered the possibility to study Li ion dynamics on both the short-range and long-range length scale. Information was extracted from complete diffusion-induced rate peaks that are obtained when the relaxation rate is plotted vs inverse temperature. The peak maximum of the three samples studied shifts toward higher temperatures with increasing Li content x in 2H-LixNbS2. Information on the dimensionality of the diffusion process was experimentally obtained by frequency dependent Rρ measurements carried out at T = 444 K, that is in the high-temperature regime of the rate peaks. A slight, but measurable frequency-dependence within this limit is found for all samples; it is in good agreement with predictions from relaxation models developed to approximate low-dimensional (2D) jump diffusion.

Very fast bulk Li ion diffusivity in crystalline Li1.5Al0.5Ti1.5(PO4)3 as seen using NMR relaxometry

⁷Li NMR spin-lock relaxometry reveals the elementary activation barriers, E_A, the ions have to jump over in LATP-based fast lithium-ion conductors.

Local-field approximation of homonuclear dipolar interactions in ⁷Li-NMR: density-matrix calculations and random-walk simulations tested by echo experiments on borate glasses

NMR echo techniques have proven to be important to study dynamics in ion conductors and other solid materials. Using the spin-3/2 nucleus (7)Li as a probe, both the quadrupolar and the often neglected homonuclear dipolar interactions modulate the NMR frequency as the ion performs jump processes. Retaining only the local-field term of the many-body Hamiltonian, the impact of the dipolar interaction on various echo experiments was studied using spin dynamics calculations yielding products of dipolar and quadrupolar correlation functions. Using a simple stochastic model these functions were simulated with particular emphasis on the impact of ionic motions and on the conditions under which the dipolar and quadrupolar contributions factorize. The results of the computations and of the random-walk simulations are compared with experimental data obtained for various lithium borate and lithium borophosphate glasses. It is concluded that the local-field approximation is a useful means of treating the Li-Li dipole interactions and that the simple model that we introduce is capable of describing many experimentally observed features. Furthermore, because the dipolar and quadrupolar contributions essentially factorize, a selective determination of the corresponding correlation functions becomes possible.

Two-dimensional diffusion in Li0.7NbS2 as directly probed by frequency-dependent 7Li NMR

Li ion diffusion in layer-structured Li0.7NbS2 has been complementary investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy from an atomic scale point of view. In the present case, (7)Li NMR spin-lattice relaxation (SLR) rates R1ρ probed in the rotating frame of reference proved very informative in characterizing the Li self-diffusion process in the van der Waals gap between the NbS2 layers. While temperature-variable SLRρ measurements were used to determine dynamic parameters such as jump rates (τ(-1)) and the activation energy (Ea), frequency-dependent measurements were used to specify the dimensionality of the diffusion process. In particular, the effect of annealing, i.e., the distribution of Li ions between the layers, on overall Li dynamics has been studied. When plotted in an Arrhenius diagram, the R1ρ rates of an annealed sample, which were recorded at a locking frequency of 20 kHz, pass through a diffusion-induced relaxation peak whose maximum shows up at 320 K. Employing an appropriate diffusion model and appropriately accounting for a non-diffusive background relaxation, a Li jump rate τ(-1)(300 K) ≈ 1.3 × 10(5) s(-1) and an activation energy Ea of 0.43(2) eV can be deduced. Most importantly, in the high-T limit of the diffusion-induced rate peak, i.e., when ω1τ << 1 holds, the rates follow a logarithmic frequency dependence. This points to a diffusion process of low dimensionality and is in good agreement with predictions of relaxation models developed for 2D diffusion.

Extremely slow Li ion dynamics in monoclinic Li2TiO3--probing macroscopic jump diffusion via 7Li NMR stimulated echoes

A thorough understanding of ion dynamics in solids, which is a vital topic in modern materials and energy research, requires the investigation of diffusion properties on a preferably large dynamic range by complementary techniques. Here, a polycrystalline sample of Li(2)TiO(3) was used as a model substance to study Li motion by both (7)Li spin-alignment echo (SAE) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ac-conductivity measurements. Although the two methods do probe Li dynamics in quite different ways, good agreement was found so that the Li diffusion parameters, such as jump rates and the activation energy, could be precisely determined over a dynamic range of approximately eleven decades. For example, Li solid-state diffusion coefficients D(σ) deduced from impedance spectroscopy range from 10(-23) m(2) s(-1) to 10(-12) m(2) s(-1) (240-835 K). These values are in perfect agreement with the coefficients D(SAE) deduced from SAE NMR spectroscopy. As an example, D(SAE) = 2 × 10(-17) m(2) s(-1) at 433 K and the corresponding activation energy determined by NMR amounts to 0.77(2) eV (400-600 K). At room temperature D(σ) takes a value of 3 × 10(-21) m(2) s(-1).

Li Ion Dynamics in Al-Doped Garnet-Type Li7La3Zr2O12 Crystallizing with Cubic Symmetry

Lithium-ion dynamics in the garnet-type solid electrolyte “Li7La3Zr2O12” (LLZ) crystallizing with cubic symmetry was probed by means of variable-temperature 7Li NMR spectroscopy and ac impedance measurements. Li jump rates of an Al-containing sample follow Arrhenius behaviour being characterized by a relatively high activation energy of 0.54(3) eV and a pre-exponential factor of 2.2(5) × 10 13 s-1. The results resemble those which were quite recently obtained for an Al-free LLZ sample crystallizing, however, with tetragonal symmetry. Hence, most likely, the significantly higher Li conductivity previously reported for a cubic LLZ sample cannot be ascribed solely to the slight structural distortions accompanying the change of the crystal symmetry. Here, even Al impurities, acting as stabilizer for the cubic polymorph at room temperature, do not lead to the high ion conductivity reported previously.

Studying Li Dynamics in a Gas-Phase Synthesized Amorphous Oxide by NMR and Impedance Spectroscopy

Li diffusion parameters of a structurally disordered Li-Al-Si-oxide prepared by gas-phase synthesis were complementarily investigated by both time-domain NMR techniques and impedance spectroscopy. The first include 7Li NMR spin-lattice relaxation (SLR) measurements in the laboratory as well as in the rotating frame of reference. An analysis of variable-temperature NMR line widths point to an activation energy Ea of approximately 0.6 eV. The value is confirmed by rotating-frame SLR NMR data recorded at approximately 11 kHz. Above room temperature the low-temperature flank of a diffusion-induced rate peak shows up which can be approximated by an Arrhenius law yielding Ea=0.56(1) eV. This is in very good agreement with the result obtained from 7Li spin-alignment echo (SAE) NMR being sensitive to even slower Li dynamics. For comparison, dc-conductivity measurements, probing long-range motions, yield Ea=0.8 eV. Interestingly, low-temperature SAE NMR decay rates point to localized Li motions being characterized with a very small activation energy of only 0.09 eV.