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June 6, 2026Advanced Energy Materials0 citationsOpen Access

Mechanisms of Alkali Ionic Transport in Amorphous Oxyhalides Solid State Conductors

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LBLuca BinciLawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryKJKyuJung JunKorea UniversityBDBowen DengLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Key Points

  • This work aims to explore the mechanisms underlying alkali ionic transport in amorphous oxyhalides solid-state conductors.
  • Constructed large-scale molecular dynamics trajectories using machine learning interatomic potentials.
  • Analyzed alkali cation residence time around tetrahedrally-coordinated metals.
  • Computed the full Einstein expression of ionic conductivity across various chemical compositions.
  • Found that oxygen anions limit alkali cation diffusion around metal–anion tetrahedra.
  • Demonstrated that the alkali transference number is influenced by distinct-particle correlations.
  • Clarified that diffusion properties remain largely unchanged despite variations in atomic chemistry.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Amorphous oxyhalides have attracted significant attention due to their relatively high ionic conductivity (1 mS ), excellent chemical stability, mechanical softness, and facile synthesis routes via standard solid‐state reactions. These materials exhibit an ionic conductivity that is almost independent of the underlying chemistry, in stark contrast to what occurs in crystalline conductors. In this work, we employ machine learning interatomic potentials to construct large‐scale molecular dynamics trajectories encompassing hundreds of nanoseconds to obtain statistically converged transport properties. We find that the amorphous state consists of chain fragments of metal‐anion tetrahedra of various lengths. By analyzing the residence time of alkali cations migrating around tetrahedrally‐coordinated metals, we find that oxygen anions limit alkali diffusion. By computing the full Einstein expression of the ionic conductivity, we demonstrate that the alkali transference number of these materials is strongly influenced by distinct‐particles correlations, while alkali transport is dictated by uncorrelated self‐diffusion. By extending this analysis to chemical compositions , spanning different alkaline ( = Li, Na, K), metallic ( = Al, Ga, In), and halogen ( = Cl, Br, I) species, we clarify why the diffusion properties of these materials remain largely insensitive to variations in atomic isovalent chemistry.

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Cite This Study

Binci et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a23bc0571a5da9775e77771https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.71124
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