Pechini synthesis of high ionic conductivity Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7 (PO4)3 solid electrolytes: The effect of dispersant

• Nasicon-type LATP materials have been synthesized by a modified pechini process.
• The optimum conductivity was obtained for the sample with glucose as dispersant.
• The highest electrical conductivity at 30 °C is 6.0 × 10−4 S/cm.
• The LATP electrolyte has a negligible electronic conductivity.

A NASICON-type structure lithium ion conducting solid electrolyte with the composition of Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP) has been successfully synthesized via a modified pechini process with ethylene glycol or glucose as dispersant. The influences of dispersant, calcination temperature for the precursor powders, sintering temperature and holding period for the electrolyte pellets on electrical properties of the LATP electrolytes were investigated. The produced LATP sample using glucose as dispersant has a higher electrical conductivity than those samples with ethylene glycol as dispersant or no dispersant. The highest total conductivity of 6.0 × 10−4 S/cm at 303 K and the lowest activation energy of 0.31 eV were obtained for the LATP electrolyte sample sintered in 900 °C for 3 h and prepared using the precursor powders calcined at 850 °C for 5 h in air. Additionally, this electrolyte sample has a negligible electronic conductivity. These results imply that the LATP electrolytes obtained in this work can be considered as candidates for solid state electrolytes applied in Lithium ion batteries.