Field assisted sintering of dense Al-substituted cubic phase Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolytes

High performance lithium ion conducting Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolytes are prepared for the first time by field assisted sintering technology (FAST). The effect of sintering temperature on the phase compositions, microstructure and Li ionic conductivity is systematically investigated. The results show that pure cubic phase LLZO can be obtained at a range of temperatures from 1100 to 1180 degrees C for no more than 10 min. For the sample sintered at 1150 degrees C, a maximum relative density of 99.8% with a total ionic conductivity as high as 5.7 x 10(-4) S cm(-1) are obtained at room temperature. This value is the highest among the present research. Compared with the traditional preparation methods, the current FAST is very promising to obtain high performance LLZO for its advantages of very short sintering time, a single preparation step of reaction-densification processing, and relatively lower sintering temperature. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V.