Substrate related structural, electronic and electrochemical properties of evaporated CeOx ion storage layers

Abstract Thin CeO x films were deposited on Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coated glass and on Aluminium (Al) foil using electron beam evaporation. Combined analysis based on various experimental techniques has clearly revealed that the properties of the films are influenced by the substrate on which they are deposited: The CeO x /ITO films have smaller grain size and thus a larger amount of oxygen vacancies under reducing conditions than their CeO x /Al counterparts. Their morphology difference characterizes their behavior during lithiation: The CeO x /ITO films exhibit a Li + diffusion coefficient of about one order of magnitude higher than that of the CeO x /Al films.