Influence of microstructure and AlPO4 secondary-phase on the ionic conductivity of Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 solid-state electrolyte

A ceramic solid-state electrolyte of lithium aluminum titanium phosphate with the composition of Li[Formula: see text]Al[Formula: see text]Ti[Formula: see text](PO[Formula: see text] (LATP) was synthesized by a sol–gel method using a pre-dissolved Ti-source. The annealed LATP powders were subsequently processed in a binder-free dry forming method and sintered under air for the pellet preparation. Phase purity, density, microstructure as well as ionic conductivity of the specimen were characterized. The highest density (2.77[Formula: see text][Formula: see text] with an ionic conductivity of [Formula: see text] (at 30[Formula: see text]C) was reached at a sintering temperature of 1100[Formula: see text]C. Conductivity of LATP ceramic electrolyte is believed to be significantly affected by both, the AlPO 4 secondary phase content and the ceramic electrolyte microstructure. It has been found that with increasing sintering temperature, the secondary-phase content of AlPO 4 increased. For sintering temperatures above 1000[Formula: see text]C, the secondary phase has only a minor impact, and the ionic conductivity is predominantly determined by the microstructure of the pellet, i.e. the correlation between density, porosity and particle size. In that respect, it has been demonstrated, that the conductivity increases with increasing particle size in this temperature range and density.