An inorganic solid electrolyte is the most favorable candidate for replacing flammable liquid electrolytes in lithium batteries. Lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO) is considered a promising solid electrolyte due to its safe operating potential window (0–5 V) combined with its good electrochemical stability. In this work, 250 g batches of pre-sintered Ta-doped LLZO (Li7La3Zr1.6Ta0.4O12, Ta-LLZO) were synthesized for bulk production of a dense LLZO electrolyte. A simple two-step thermal treatment process was developed. The first thermal step at 950 °C initiates nucleation of LLZO, with carefully controlled process parameters such as heating atmosphere, temperature, and dopant concentration. In the second thermal step at 1150 °C, sintered discs were obtained as solid electrolytes, with relative densities of 96%. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the phase purity of the sintered Ta-LLZO disc, and refined data were used to calculate the lattice parameter (12.944 Å). Furthermore, the presence of the Ta dopant in the disc was confirmed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The ionic and electronic conductivity values of the Ta-LLZO disc were 10−4 S cm−1 and 10−10 S cm−1, respectively. These values confirm that the prepared (Ta-LLZO) discs exhibit ionic conductivity while being electronically insulating, being suitable for use as solid electrolytes with the requisite electrical properties.
