Stabilization of lithium superionic conduction phase and enhancement of conductivity of LiBH4 by LiCl addition

LiBH4 exhibits lithium superionic conduction accompanied by structural transition at around 390 K. Addition of LiCl to LiBH4 drastically affects both the transition and electrical conductivity: Transition from low-temperature (LT) to high-temperature (HT) phases in LiBH4 is observed at 370 K upon heating and the HT phase can be retained at 350-330 K upon cooling. Further, the conductivity in the LT phase is more than one or two orders of magnitude higher than that of pure LiBH4. These properties could be attributed to the dissolution of LiCl into LiBH4, suggested by in situ x-ray diffraction measurement.