Publications
Lithium Thiophosphate Compounds as Stable High Rate Li-Ion Separators
Battery separators based upon lithium thiophosphate (LiPS4) have previously been demonstrated at UC Boulder, but the thickness of the separators was too high to be of practical use in a lithium ion battery. The separators are solid phase, which makes them intrinsically less prone to thermal runaway and thereby improves safety. Results of attempting to develop sputtered thin film layers of this material by starting with targets of pure Li, Li2S, and P2S5 are reported. Sputtering rates and film quality and composition are discussed, along with efforts to use Raman spectroscopy to determine quantitative film composition. The latter is a rate limiting step in the investigation of these films, as they are typically thin and require long times to get to sufficient thickness to be analyzed using traditional methods, whereas Raman is particularly well suited to this analysis, if it can be made quantitative. The final results of the film deposition methods are reported, and a path towards new films is discussed. Finally, it should be noted that this program originally began with one graduate student working on the program, but this student ultimately chose to not continue with a PhD. A second student took over in the middle of the effort, and a new program has been proposed with a significantly altered chemistry to take the program in a new direction.