Superconducting solid state electrolytes with low activation energies
AssigneesToyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsRana Mohtadi, Oscar Tutusaus, Jian Pan
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Abstract
An electrolyte includes a composite salt mixture with between 0.975 and 0.05 mole fraction, relative to a total anion content of the composite salt mixture, of a halogen-free boron cluster salt (e.g., a halogen-free closo-borate salt) and between 0.025 and 0.95 mole fraction, relative to the total anion content of the composite salt mixture, of a halogenated boron cluster salt (e.g., a halogenated closo-borate salt), a solvent content between 0.01 mol % and 100 mol % relative to a total cation content of the electrolyte, and an activation energy less than 0.65 electron volts (eV) at one or more temperatures above −30° C.
Claims20
An electrolyte comprising:
- a composite salt mixture comprising between 0.975 and 0.05 mole fraction, relative to a total anion content of the composite salt mixture, of a halogen-free boron cluster salt and between 0.025 and 0.95 mole fraction, relative to the total anion content of the composite salt mixture, of a halogenated boron cluster salt;
- a solvent content between 0.01 mol % and 100 mol % relative to a total cation content of the electrolyte;
- and
- an activation energy less than 0.65 eV at one or more temperatures above −30° C.
An electrochemical cell comprising:
- an anode, a cathode, and a solid state electrolyte comprising:
- a composite salt mixture comprising between 0.975 and 0.05 mole fraction, relative to a total anion content of the composite salt mixture, of a halogen-free boron cluster salt and between 0.025 and 0.95 mole fraction, relative to the total anion content of the composite salt mixture, of a halogenated boron cluster salt of the solid state electrolyte;
- a solvent content between 0.01 and 100 mol % relative to a total cation content of the solid state electrolyte;
- and
- an activation energy less than 0.65 eV at one or more temperatures above −30° C.
A method comprising:
- mixing a halogen-free boron cluster salt, a halogenated boron cluster salt, and solvent in a mechanochemical synthetic ball mill and forming an inorganic boron cluster solid state electrolyte, the halogen-free boron cluster salt comprising between 0.975 and 0.05 mole fraction relative to a total anion content of the solid state electrolyte, the halogenated boron cluster salt comprising between 0.025 and 0.95 mole fraction relative to the total anion content of the solid state electrolyte, and the solvent comprising between 0.01 and 100 mol % relative to a total cation content of the solid state electrolyte, wherein the inorganic boron cluster solid state electrolyte, when heated to a temperature at or below 200° C. and cooled, has an activation energy that is less than an activation energy of the solid state electrolyte before being heated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.