1. Local Structure of Glassy Lithium Phosphorus Oxynitride Thin Films: A Combined Experimental and Ab Initio Approach
- Author
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Maxwell A. T. Marple, Thomas A. Wynn, Diyi Cheng, Ryosuke Shimizu, Harris E. Mason, and Y. Shirley Meng
- Subjects
GIPAW ,Materials science ,LiPON ,Ab initio ,FOS: Physical sciences ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Catalysis ,Ion ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Ab initio quantum chemistry methods ,Fast ion conductor ,Thin film ,solid electrolytes ,solid-state NMR spectroscopy ,Condensed Matter - Materials Science ,010405 organic chemistry ,ab initio calculations ,Organic Chemistry ,Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) ,General Medicine ,General Chemistry ,Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,0104 chemical sciences ,Amorphous solid ,Monomer ,Chemical engineering ,chemistry ,Chemical Sciences ,0210 nano-technology - Abstract
Lithium phosphorus oxynitride (LiPON) is an amorphous solid-state lithium ion conductor displaying exemplary cyclability against lithium metal anodes. There is no definitive explanation for this stability due to the limited understanding of the structure of LiPON. We provide a structural model of RF-sputtered LiPON via experimental and computational spectroscopic methods. Information about the short-range structure results from 1D and 2D solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance experiments investigating chemical shift anisotropy and dipolar interactions. These results are compared with first principles chemical shielding calculations of Li-P-O/N crystals and ab initio molecular dynamics-generated amorphous LiPON models to unequivocally identify the glassy structure as primarily isolated phosphate monomers with N incorporated in both apical and as bridging sites in phosphate dimers. Structural results suggest LiPON's stability is a result of its glassy character. Free-standing LiPON films are produced that exhibit a high degree of flexibility highlighting the unique mechanical properties of glassy materials.
- Published
- 2020