Ceramic-based solid-state electrolyte for high energy density batteries

Alkali-ion batteries have become indispensable in the modern world, enabling technologies of all energy scales, for example, mobile phones, electric vehicles, and grid energy storage for renewable power plants. One of the most important characteristics of alkali-ion batteries is the gravimetric and volumetric energy densities, measured in Wh kg-1 and Wh L-1, which is mainly dependent on the cathode specific capacity in mAh g-1 and the operational voltage. The current Li-ion batteries have limited energy densities (< 300 Wh kg-1), restricting electric vehicles range to ~ 300 miles per single charge. To break through this barrier, a consensus is to replace traditional cathode material that has a theoretical capacity of ~ 279 mAh g-1 with advanced materials having higher capacities. One of the most promising candidates for cathode material is the low-cost and earthabundant sulfur, which has a high theoretical capacity of 1672 mAh g-1, boosting the sulfur theoretical energy density to 2660 Wh kg-1 compared to 606 Wh kg-1 for state-of-the-art commercial cathode material (LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2) for Li-ion batteries. In addition, sulfur is a by-product of oil and natural gas industry obtained during desulfurization process, lowering down the cost and improving its global abundance. In fact, Saudi Arabia is currently the fourth-largest producer of elemental sulfur worldwide. However, the sulfur cathode is plagued with numerous challenges when employed in alkali-ion batteries technology. The polysulfide shuttling effect is on top of these challenges, which causes capacity fade, short cycle life, and eventually battery failure.