Hydration and Dehydration Behavior of Li4SnS4 for Applications as a Moisture-Resistant All-Solid-State Battery Electrolyte

All-solid-state batteries are promising energy storage devices owing to their high safety and energy density. Sulfide-based solid electrolytes have high ionic conductivities and are ductile. Although sulfide electrolytes are candidates for all -solid-state batteries, they are moisture-sensitive. Li4SnS4 electro-lytes can overcome some of these weaknesses and show the suppressed evolution of H2S gas in a humid environment. However, the suppression mechanism is unclear, making the design of moisture-resistant sulfide electrolytes challenging. Therefore, we investigated the structural changes of Li4SnS4 in humid N2. X-ray structural analysis revealed that Li4SnS4 was hydrated to Li4SnS4middot4H2O without generating H2S gas. Fur-thermore, the hydrate could be reversibly dehydrated by heat treatment to the original sulfide, suggesting that the formation of stable hydrates suppresses the generation of H2S gas. These findings will aid in the design of moisture-resistant sulfide materials.

Automated summary

All-solid-state batteries have potential as energy storage devices due to their high safety and energy density. Sulfide-based solid electrolytes, although they have high ionic conductivities and ductility, are sensitive to moisture. Li4SnS4 electrolytes can mitigate these weaknesses by suppressing the evolution of H2S gas in a humid environment. The mechanism behind this suppression was investigated and it was found that the formation of stable hydrates plays a role. These findings will contribute to the design of moisture-resistant sulfide materials.