Electrical and Structural Properties of Li(1.3)Al(0.3)Ti(1.7)(PO(4))(3)—Based Ceramics Prepared with the Addition of Li(4)SiO(4)

The currently studied materials considered as potential candidates to be solid electrolytes for Li-ion batteries usually suffer from low total ionic conductivity. One of them, the NASICON-type ceramic of the chemical formula Li(1.3)Al(0.3)Ti(1.7)(PO(4))(3), seems to be an appropriate material for the modification of its electrical properties due to its high bulk ionic conductivity of the order of 10(−3) S∙cm(−1). For this purpose, we propose an approach concerning modifying the grain boundary composition towards the higher conducting one. To achieve this goal, Li(4)SiO(4) was selected and added to the LATP base matrix to support Li(+) diffusion between the grains. The properties of the Li(1.3)Al(0.3)Ti(1.7)(PO(4))(3)−xLi(4)SiO(4) (0.02 ≤ x ≤ 0.1) system were studied by means of high-temperature X-ray diffractometry (HTXRD); (6)Li, (27)Al, (29)Si, and (31)P magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MAS NMR); thermogravimetry (TG); scanning electron microscopy (SEM); and impedance spectroscopy (IS) techniques. Referring to the experimental results, the Li(4)SiO(4) additive material leads to the improvement of the electrical properties and the value of the total ionic conductivity exceeds 10(−4) S∙cm(−1) in most studied cases. The factors affecting the enhancement of the total ionic conductivity are discussed. The highest value of σ(tot) = 1.4 × 10(−4) S∙cm(−1) has been obtained for LATP–0.1LSO material sintered at 1000 °C for 6 h.