Researchers announced a major breakthrough in the field of next-generation solid-state chloride-based solid electrolyte batteries. It is believed that their new findings will enable the creation of batteries that exhibit exceptional ionic conductivity. The researchers led by Professor Kisuk Kang of the Center for Nanoparticle Research within the Institute for Basic Science IBS, announced the major breakthrough with a research paper published in the journal Science.
They believed the reason trigonal chloride electrolytes can achieve low ionic conductivity is based on the variation of metal ion arrangements within the structure. They first tested this theory on lithium yttrium chloride, a common lithium metal chloride compound. When the metal ions were positioned near the pathway of lithium ions, electrostatic forces caused obstruction in their movement.