Flash sintering of Na3Zr2(SiO4)2(PO4) solid-state electrolyte at furnace temperature of 700 °C

Abstract Na3Zr2(SiO4)2(PO4), a typical solid-state electrolyte material, was fabricated at 700°C within seconds by flash-sintering. Under a direct-current electric field, the sodium oxides deposited on the cathode side due to the electrochemical reactions and thereby resulting in impurities (Na2ZrSi2O7 and m-ZrO2) within the bulks. The pure Na3Zr2(SiO4)2(PO4) bulks without the impurities could be sintered under alternative- current electric field, which exhibited comparable ion conductivity and activation energy to the reported data. This study demonstrated that flash-sintering can be used to synthesize and densify ceramics containing volatile composites. It may provide a new route to fabricate solid-state electrolytes in an efficient way.