Grain Boundary Engineering in Ta-Doped Garnet-Type Electrolyte for Lithium Dendrite Suppression.

Solid-state lithium batteries (SSLBs) based on Ta-doped Li 6.5 La 3 Zr 1.5 Ta 0.5 O 12 (LLZTO) suffer from lithium dendrite growth, which hinders their practical application. Herein, first principles simulations indicate that the Ta element prefers to segregate along grain boundaries in the form of Ta 2 O 5 precipitates due to a high energy difference induced by Ta doping. Grain boundary engineering is employed to regulate the distribution of the Ta element and enhance the density of LLZTO by introducing the La 2 O 3 additive. The sufficient La 2 O 3 additive reacts with the Ta 2 O 5 precipitates, while the residual La 2 O 3 nanoparticles fill up void defects, promoting the homogeneous distribution of the Ta element and improving the relative density to ∼98%. Critical current density of the symmetric Li battery reaches 2.12 mA·cm -2 at room temperature with the solid-state electrolyte (LLZTO + 5 wt % La 2 O 3 ), which increases by 41% compared to pure LLZTO. SSLBs with the LiFePO 4 cathode achieve a stable cycling performance with a discharge capacity of 138.6 mA·h·g -1 after 400 cycles at 0.2 C. This work provides theoretical insights into the distribution of Ta-doped LLZTO and inhibits lithium dendrite growth through grain boundary engineering.