Fig. 1: Ag exsolution-induced Li plating mechanism and Li_6-xAg_xPS₅Cl SEs.

a Schematic of the proposed Li plating mechanism involving Ag exsolution along grain boundaries and in pores. b Crystal structure in which the Li sites of Li₆PS₅Cl are partially occupied by Ag⁺ dopant ions. Li⁺ and Ag⁺ are represented by gray and blue spheres, respectively. c XRD patterns of the synthesized Li_6-xAg_xPS₅Cl SEs (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6). d, e Violin plots with regard to (d), cell volume and (e), phase stability (energy above the hull, E^hull) for the simulated Li_6-xAg_xPS₅Cl structures (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 6.0). The solid line within each violin represents the median, and the dotted lines indicate the first and third quartiles. The sample sizes in (d, e) are n = 100 for x = 0, 0.50, 0.75, and 6.0, and n = 24 for x = 0.25. f Ionic conductivities (I. C.) at 293 K and activation energies of the Li_6-xAg_xPS₅Cl SEs.