Investigations on enhanced ionic conduction in ionic liquid dispersed sol-gel derived LiTi2(PO4)3

Abstract

Ionic liquid dispersed Li+-Nasicon (LiTi2(PO4)3) composites have been prepared and systematically characterized. For this, the LiTi2(PO4)3 (LTP) has been synthesized by the sol-gel route to accommodate ionic liquid (IL) in a significant amount. The composite pellets exhibit nearly three orders of magnitude rise in conductivity as compared to LTP. High-temperature XRD along with TGA results suggest that these composites are stable at least up to 300 °C. The composites were also electrochemically characterized as an electrolyte in Li|LiCoO2 cells. These exhibit appreciable stability against lithium and are found to be suitable for low power devices. A mechanism for electrical transport has been proposed based on experimental evidences that suggest these composites as predominantly Li+ion conductors, and ionic liquid facilitates Li+ion transport by lowering the barriers at grain boundaries.