An electrostatic potential study of asymmetric ionic conductivity in Li2B4O7 crystals

This study investigated the bonding nature and electrostatic potential of asymmetric Li ionic mobility in Li2B4O7 crystals using the maximum entropy method (MEM) combined with Rietveld refinement and Ewald’s technique. Compared with the interaction between oxygen and boron, Li+ ions exhibited weak interactions with both oxygen and boron. Furthermore, electrostatic-potential-distribution analysis showed that Li+ ions had a much weaker interaction with the matrix along the c-axis channel, suggesting that higher ionic conductivity occurred along the c-axis than along the a- and b-axes.

Research highlights
► Precise structure analysis using synchrotron radiation.
► Electron density distribution study of Li2B4O7 using MEM/Rietveld analysis.
► Electrostatic-potential calculation using electron density distribution.
► Anisotropic conductivity analysis using electrostatic potential distribution.