The influence of hafnium impurities on the electrochemical performance of tantalum substituted Li7La3Zr2O12 solid electrolytes

Garnet-based Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is considered one of the most promising oxide-ceramic solid electrolyte materials for inorganic all-solid-state batteries. Dopants and substituents like Al, Ta, Nb, Ga, and W were shown to have a high impact on the total ionic conductivity, increasing it from 10(-6) S/cm up to 10(-3) S/cm. However, natural zirconium sources always contain a small amount of hafnium which could also act as dopant, but the separation of these two elements is complicated and expensive. In this work, we investigate the influence of various Hf-impurity concentrations on the performance of tantalum-doped LLZO. We synthesised Li6.45Al0.05La3Zr1.6-xHfxTa0.4O12 (LLZHO with x = 0 - 1.6) via conventional solid-state synthesis and have demonstrated that up to x = 0.1, hafnium impurities do not have a significant impact on the performance of the material. Above this concentration, the Li-ion conductivity is steadily reduced to around 70% when zirconium is fully substituted by hafnium resulting in Li6.45Al0.05La3Hf1.6Ta0.4O12. As the purity of Zr precursors has a great impact on their price, these findings can help to reduce the price of LLZO in general, as lower grade zirconium can be used in industrial scale applications.

Automated summary

LLZO is a promising oxide-ceramic solid electrolyte for all-solid-state batteries, with dopants like Al, Ta, Nb, Ga, and W enhancing its ionic conductivity. The study investigates the impact of hafnium impurities on tantalum-doped LLZO, finding that hafnium has limited effect on the material's performance up to a certain concentration level. This research has implications for reducing the cost of LLZO by using lower grade zirconium sources.