Ionic conductivity study of doped LaF3 as fluoride-ion conductors in fluoride-ion batteries

Lithium Ion Battery (LIB), a cation ion battery, is readily available in the market for some time and Fluoride Ion Battery (FIB), an anion battery, will be developed to replace LIB in near future. This is mainly due to three reasons; safety (formation of dendrites during high rate charging and discharging for LIB), higher energy density (energy stored per unit volume in FIB) and cost (high cost cobalt-based cathode). Having fluoride ions instead of lithium ions intercalating within FIB electrochemical cell can minimize safety issues and also increasing the stability within the cell. Nano-sized Lanthanum (III) fluoride (LaF3) is being used as a material for solid electrolytes as it has high ionic conductivity due to its tysonite-structure. This material has the potential to deliver a better performance within the cell. Adding on to that, metal elements (Calcium (Ca), Strontium (Sr) and Barium (Ba)) are used to dope into LaF3, creating defects within lattice to further enhance the performance. Solid electrolyte LaF3 material will be synthesized, characterized and then evaluating their ionic conductivity using a Swagelok cell and compared. A relationship between different element species doping, concentration and temperature effect of nano-sized LaF3 host materials with ionic conductivity are determined.Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering