Amorphous LiCoO2Li2SO4 active materials: Potential positive electrodes for bulk-type all-oxide solid-state lithium batteries with high energy density

Newly amorphous Li2-x/100Cox/100S1-x/100O4-x/50 (xLiCoO2·(100-x)Li2SO4 (mol%)) positive electrode active materials are synthesized using mechanochemical techniques. SEM observation indicates that average radii of the Li1.2Co0.8S0.2O2.4 (80LiCoO2·20Li2SO4 (mol%)) particles are about 3 μm. HR-TEM images indicate that the particles comprise nano-crystalline and amorphous phases. The crystalline phase is attributable to cubic LiCoO2 phase. These active materials exhibit a high electronic conductivity of around 10−5-10−1 S cm−1 and an ionic conductivity of around 10−7-10−6 S cm−1 at room temperature. Bulk-type all-oxide solid-state cells (LiIn alloy/Li3BO3-based glass-ceramic electrolyte/amorphous Li2-x/100Cox/100S1-x/100O4-x/50) are fabricated by pressing at room temperature without high temperature sintering. Although the cell with the milled LiCoO2 shows no capacity, the cell using the Li1.2Co0.8S0.2O2.4 electrode with no conductive components (ca. 150 μm thickness) operates as a secondary battery at 100 °C, with an average discharge potential of 3.3 V (vs. Li+/Li) and discharge capacity of 163 mAh g−1. A positive electrode with large amounts of active materials is suitable for achieving high energy density in all-solid-state batteries. These newly synthesized amorphous Li2-x/100Cox/100S1-x/100O4-x/50 electrodes with ionic and electronic conductivities and good processability meet that demand.