A Comparison of the Role of the Chelating Agent on the Structure of Lithium Conducting Solid Electrolyte Li1.4Al0.4Ti1.6(PO4)3: Pechini vs. Modified Pechini-Type Methods

Abstract

In recent years, solid lithium-ion conductors have been widely studied because of their applications as electrodes and solid electrolytes in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Citric acid (CA) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were employed to synthesize the nanostructured NASICON-type Li1.4Al0.4Ti1.6(PO4)3 ceramic. The chelating agent, together with an ethylene glycol (EG) and the esterification agent were employed to form a network decorated with uniform dispersed metal ions under specific conditions: molar ratio [complexing agent/metal ions] = 1 and the molar ratio [EG/EDTA] = 6, whereas the solution pH was kept below 1. A well crystalline NASICON structure was formed following the heat treatment of the produced gel at 630 °C. Simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) revealed lower required temperature for pyrolysis and crystallization using EDTA. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) showed the formation of larger crystallite size when citric acid was employed. The data from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) have confirmed the higher apparent porosity and a larger proportion of grain boundaries in the case of EDTA-assisted synthesis.