Lithium lanthanum zirconium garnet — LLZO for short — might soon hold a prominent place on battery component lists.
That's because experts at Illinois' Argonne National Laboratory are trying to perfect it as an electrolyte in solid-state batteries, according to a news release from the lab.
The team is doping LLZO with a small amount of aluminum or gallium to improve interaction with lithium-ions. Doping is "like adding a pinch of spice to a recipe to make the dish better," per the Argonne release.
If successful, the results could produce more efficient batteries that power laptops, smartphones, and other tech. But first, the team needs to understand more about how the dopants interact with LLZO.
"It's important to know how a dopant will react with lithium. It's another requirement for good electrolytes, not just high conductivity," Argonne physicist Peter Zapol said in the release.
When batteries operate, ions move between two electrodes through the electrolyte, which the government experts liken to a membrane.
Numerous labs are researching solid-state power packs because they are potentially lighter, charge faster, last longer, and are less likely to catch fire than common cells with a liquid electrolyte. A higher cost and delivering scalable manufacturing have been challenges, according to TopSpeed and Argonne.
Solid versions are also well suited for lithium-metal electrodes, a promising material that can store more energy than the graphite ones used in common packs. Both lithium-metal and solid-state batteries are being studied in China and elsewhere. For example, Porsche made headlines in 2023 for its work on a solid-state pack geared to provide an astounding 800 miles on a charge.
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Cost 💰 That's where LLZO enters the scene. It's strong, durable, and conductive. When doped with aluminum or gallium, LLZO kept its symmetric structure. Vacant spaces that allow for ion flow from the electrodes — improving conductivity — were also created, according to Argonne.
But the dopants were found to cause some reactive problems, leading to a shorter cycle life. As a result, Argonne experts leveraged expertise and tech — both computational and experimental — from the University of California, Santa Barbara and labs in Germany and the Czech Republic to better study the electrolyte and dopants in pursuit of the best combination.
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"If we can separate reactivity from conductivity, or if we can develop one material that has both high conductivity and stability, that's basically what we are trying to show with this work," Argonne chemist Sanja Tepavcevic said in the release.
Lithium-ion batteries are already extremely reliable and safe energy sources for our devices and cleaner rides. Per government data, electric vehicles can achieve an average of 270 miles of range, often in less than 20 to 30 minutes of charge time, depending on the tech. And EVs are less likely to catch fire than gas cars, according to multiple reports that douse fire fears.
What's more, each EV that replaces a gas car prevents thousands of pounds of air pollution each year. The harmful exhaust is linked to increased cancer, lung, heart, and other health risks, according to government reports.
It remains a great time to make the switch, as tax credits are available to help offset the purchase. That's in addition to $1,500 in average annual gas and maintenance savings.
At Argonne, the LLZO findings could help to bring solid-state power pack potential to bear for an even greater impact.
​"Looking ahead, these findings open new avenues in the international pursuit of safer, more efficient solid-state batteries," Zapol said in the release.
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