5mp Digital Camera: New solid-state compound beats old school lithium-ion batteries

Although lithium ion batteries have seen some significant improvements over the last few years, they still have a number of weaknesses, including fragility, sensitivity to operating temperatures, bulky support structures, and flammable electrolytes. As a result, researchers (and a few start-ups) have been attempting to develop updated versions based on different chemistries. One option is a lithium-air battery, where one of the electrodes moves charges by allowing the lithium to react with oxygen, saving the space involved with a standard electrode. The primary alternative is a solid-state battery, where the liquid electrolyte is replaced by a solid version.

A number of solid-state lithium electrolytes have been identified, but these have their own issues: low ionic conductivity, temperature sensitivity, and chemical instability. As such, they've typically performed significantly worse than existing lithium-ion technology. A Japanese group that includes some researchers at Toyota has now found a solid electrolyte that's also a superionic conductor, and show that it may have what it takes to function in batteries.