Several “Beyond Li-Ion Battery” concepts such as all solid-state batteries and hybrid liquid/solid systems envision the use of a solid electrolyte to protect Li-metal anodes. These configurations are very attractive due to the possibility of exceptionally high energy densities and high (dis)charge rates, but they are far from being realized practically due to a number of issues including high interfacial resistance and difficulties associated with fabrication. One of the most promising solid electrolyte systems for these applications is Al or Ga stabilized Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZO) based on high ionic conductivities and apparent stability against reduction by Li metal. Nevertheless, the fabrication of dense LLZO membranes with high ionic conductivity and low interfacial resistances remains challenging; it definitely requires a better understanding of the structural and electrochemical properties. In this study, the phase transition from garnet (Ia3̅d, No. 230) to “non-garnet” (I4̅3d, No. 220) space group as a function of composition and the different sintering behavior of Ga and Al stabilized LLZO are identified as important factors in determining the electrochemical properties. The phase transition was located at an Al:Ga substitution ratio of 0.05:0.15 and is accompanied by a significant lowering of the activation energy for Li-ion transport to 0.26 eV. The phase transition combined with microstructural changes concomitant with an increase of the Ga/Al ratio continuously improves the Li-ion conductivity from 2.6 × 10^–4 S cm^–1 to 1.2 × 10^–3 S cm^–1, which is close to the calculated maximum for garnet-type materials. The increase in Ga content is also associated with better densification and smaller grains and is accompanied by a change in the area specific resistance (ASR) from 78 to 24 Ω cm², the lowest reported value for LLZO so far. These results illustrate that understanding the structure–properties relationships in this class of materials allows practical obstacles to its utilization to be readily overcome.

Li-oxide garnets such as Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZO) are among the most promising candidates for solid-state electrolytes to be used in next-generation Li-ion batteries. The garnet-structured cubic modification of LLZO, showing space group Ia-3d, has to be stabilized with supervalent cations. LLZO stabilized with Ga³⁺ shows superior properties compared to LLZO stabilized with similar cations; however, the reason for this behavior is still unknown. In this study, a comprehensive structural characterization of Ga-stabilized LLZO is performed by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Coarse-grained samples with crystal sizes of several hundred micrometers are obtained by solid-state reaction. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction results show that Li_7–3xGa_xLa₃Zr₂O₁₂ with x > 0.07 crystallizes in the acentric cubic space group I-43d. This is the first definite record of this cubic modification for LLZO materials and might explain the superior electrochemical performance of Ga-stabilized LLZO compared to its Al-stabilized counterpart. The phase transition seems to be caused by the site preference of Ga³⁺. ⁷Li NMR spectroscopy indicates an additional Li-ion diffusion process for LLZO with space group I-43d compared to space group Ia-3d. Despite all efforts undertaken to reveal structure–property relationships for this class of materials, this study highlights the potential for new discoveries.

A total of 30 synthetic samples of the Ca₂Fe_2−xAl_xO₅, 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 1.34 solid solution series have been investigated by single crystal X-ray diffraction at 25 °C. Pure Ca₂Fe₂O₅ and samples up to x = 0.56 have space group Pnma, Z = 4, whereas samples with x >0.56 show I2mb symmetry, Z = 4. The substitution of Fe³⁺ by the smaller Al³⁺ cation decreases unit-cell parameters and average octahedral and tetrahedral bond lengths and induces distinct changes in the O-atom coordination of the interstitial Ca atom. Discontinuities in the structural parameters vs. the Al³⁺_tot content and changes in slope of these quantities are associated with the phase transition. The essential difference between the two modifications is the cation-O atom-cation angle within the planes of corner sharing octahedra, which is close to 180° in I2mb, but ≈184° in the Pnma phase, and the existence of two different orientations of the tetrahedral chains in Pnma as opposed to one in I2mb. At low overall Al³⁺ concentrations Al³⁺ preferentially enters the tetrahedral site until ≈2/3 of it is filled. Additional Al³⁺ cations, substituted for Fe³⁺, are equally distributed over octahedral and tetrahedral sites. At high temperature pure Ca₂Fe₂O₅ transforms to a body-centered structure at 724(4)°C. Substituting Al³⁺ for Fe³⁺ linearly decreases the transition temperature by 15 °C per 0.1 Al³⁺ down to 623(5)°C for x = 0.65.

Fast Li-ion-conducting Li oxide garnets receive a great deal of attention as they are suitable candidates for solid-state Li electrolytes. It was recently shown that Ga-stabilized Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ crystallizes in the acentric cubic space group I4̅3d. This structure can be derived by a symmetry reduction of the garnet-type Ia3̅d structure, which is the most commonly found space group of Li oxide garnets and garnets in general. In this study, single-crystal X-ray diffraction confirms the presence of space group I4̅3d also for Li_7–3xFe_xLa₃Zr₂O₁₂. The crystal structure was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, neutron powder diffraction, and Mößbauer spectroscopy. The crystal–chemical behavior of Fe³⁺ in Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ is very similar to that of Ga³⁺. The symmetry reduction seems to be initiated by the ordering of Fe³⁺ onto the tetrahedral Li1 (12a) site of space group I4̅3d. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements showed a Li-ion bulk conductivity of up to 1.38 × 10^–3 S cm^–1 at room temperature, which is among the highest values reported for this group of materials.

We successfully demonstrated the applicability of microcontact impedance spectroscopy (MC IS) on Li⁺conducting solid electrolytes and measured the Li⁺bulk conductivity (σ_b) of LiTi₂(PO₄)₃(LTP) and Li_1+xAl_xTi_2−x(PO₄)₃(LATP) single crystals independent of microstructural effects (e.g., grain boundaries, pores, and density).