The Effects of Constriction Factor and Geometric Tortuosity on Li‐Ion Transport in Porous Solid‐State Li‐Ion Electrolytes
Tanner Hamann, Lei Zhang, Yunhui Gong, Griffin L. Godbey, Jack E. Gritton, Dennis W. McOwen, Gregory T. Hitz, Eric D. Wachsman
Abstract
Abstract 3D focused ion beam tomography is used to analyze the microstructures of Li‐ion conducting Li 6.75 La 2.75 Ca 0.25 Zr 1.5 Nb 0.5 O 12 (LLCZN) garnet porous electrolytes with different levels of porosity and the theoretical effective bulk conductivities of the electrolyte are calculated based on LLCZN volume fraction, constriction factor, geometric tortuosity, and percolation factor. The experimentally measured effective bulk conductivities are consistently lower than the theoretical values when assuming constant bulk conductivity, suggesting the bulk conductivity of the LLCZN decreased with increasing porosity. This work highlights the importance of understanding the full effects of altering the microstructure of solid‐state electrolytes, as this will play a key role in advancing Li‐ion battery technology to higher energy and power densities.