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To mitigate the thickness-dependent electrical resistance limiting all-solid-state sodium batteries, researchers synthesized continuous NaSICON nanofilms via low-energy ion sputtering of sintered targets and modified their defect structures through 1.1 MeV Ni ion irradiation. Thinning solid-state electrolytes to the nanometer regime significantly enhances ionic conductivity by reducing bulk ion transport pathways. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy revealed that post-deposition ion bombardment directly modulates the electrical properties and ionic transport of the resulting superionic conductor films.
Nanoscale thickness combined with MeV-range heavy-ion bombardment circumvents the severe resistance penalties that historically bottlenecked sodium superionic conductors.
Solid electrolytes (SEs) for sodium-based superionic conductors (NaSICON) were first introduced in 1976 and quickly recognized for their excellent ionic conductivity. While considerable effort has been made to develop thin electrolytes for all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs), only a few sodium-based SEs have been successfully fabricated as thin films. These thin films are particularly desirable for their reduced electrical resistance, which typically increases with the thickness of the SE. By reducing the thickness of the SEs to the nanometer scale, their ionic conductivity can be significantly enhanced. In this study, the NASICON composite was initially prepared in the form of pellets using the mixed oxide technique with a planetary ball mill and synthesized by the solid-state method at 1300 {\deg}C. The resulting pellets were used as sputtering targets in a low-energy ion facility to prepare continuous NASICON nanofilms. To explore the effect of ion implantation on the electrical properties of NASICON, the prepared films were bombarded with Ni ions at 1.1 MeV and varying fluences, using the Tandetron accelerator at the CANAM infrastructure (NPI \v{R}e\v{z}). The electrical properties of both the synthesized and implanted films were analyzed through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results, describing the impact of irradiation on NASICON's properties, are presented here.