Laser Sintering as a Method to Achieve High-Density Latp Ceramics

This work demonstrates, for the first time, the successful processing of NASICON-type Li 1.3 Al 0.3 Ti 1.7 (PO 4 ) 3 (LATP) ceramics using CO 2 laser sintering. Both the influence of laser power (5 - 26 W) and laser exposure time (3 and 5 min per side) on the physical properties and structure were investigated. Laser sintering led to high densities above 95% at 24 W (3 min) and up to 97% at 19 W (5 min), while maintaining the rhombohedral NASICON structure. Microstructural analyses revealed homogeneous, low-porosity ceramics, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy indicated total ionic conductivities ranging from 0.17 to 0.23 mS/cm at room temperature and activation energies of 0.29-0.42 eV, confirming lithium ions as charge carriers. These results demonstrate the potential of CO 2 laser sintering as an energy-efficient and scalable strategy to obtain dense LATP ceramics in drastically reduced times compared to conventional methods, enabling their integration into advanced functional applications, such as solid electrolytes or ion-selective membranes for lithium recovery.