Space Charge Layer and Facile Halide Rearrangement Enable Fast Lithium-Ion Transport at Halide Solid Electrolyte Interfaces

Abstract

Halide solid electrolytes are promising candidates for energy-dense all-solid-state batteries because they combine high-voltage stability, facile processing, and fast Li-ion conduction. A recent study showed that physically mixing two halide solid electrolytes, Li$_2$ZrCl$_6$ (LZC) and Li$_3$YCl$_6$ (LYC), raises the Li-ion conductivity by 46% and 58% relative to LZC and LYC, respectively, suggesting that halide heterointerfaces offer a new route to faster ion transport; however, the origin of this enhancement remains unknown. Here, we combine density functional theory calculations, defect thermodynamics, machine-learning-driven molecular dynamics, and vibrational and Raman spectroscopy to elucidate Li-ion transport in LZC, LYC, and their heterointerface. Using low-energy ordered supercells that represent the configurational disorder of these halides, we find that Li and Cl interstitials are the dominant charged defects in both materials. Forming an LZC|LYC interface favors the generation of interfacial Li Frenkel pairs, producing Li interstitials in LZC and Li vacancies in LYC, thereby increasing the charge-carrier concentration near the interface. By analyzing the angular orientations of Cl around the metal cations in molecular dynamics trajectories of a coherent interface, we show that the interface creates new stable Cl configurations that accommodate the framework rearrangement accompanying Li hops. Simulated vibrational power spectra and measured Raman spectra indicate lattice softening and octahedral distortion at the interface, consistent with the formation of these Cl configurations. These results support a cooperative mechanism in which space charge layer formation and a dynamically flexible interfacial halide framework enhance Li-ion conduction, providing atomistic design principles for superionic halide heterostructures and multicomponent solid electrolytes.