Synthesis, structural and conductive properties of Nd doped garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 Li-ion conductor

Garnet type solid electrolyte Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) is the most promising candidate among solid electrolytes for all solid state Li batteries. In this work, small amount of Nd doping (5%–20%) to the garnet structure is proposed to improve its ionic conductivity. Nd doped garnet type solid electrolytes for Li-ion batteries were synthesized through a conventional solid state reaction method. The effect of Nd doping on the microstructure, morphology and ionic conductivity of the LLZO was studied by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. Instead of La whose valence is similar to that of Nd, XRD and Raman analyzes revealed that Nd takes the place of the higher valence element Zr. In order to compensate the valence difference, the ratio of Li increases in the structure. On the other side, results showed that Nd doped LLZO samples formed as a mixture of both tetragonal and cubic phases. According to EIS measurements, among the prepared samples, 5% Nd doped LLZO exhibits the highest ionic conductivity of 2.47 × 10−6 S cm−1 at room temperature.