Electrochemical performance and kinetic behavior of lithium ion in Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 thin film electrodes

Abstract Li4Ti5O12 thin film electrodes are successfully deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The microstructure and morphology of Li4Ti5O12 thin films are characterized by XRD and ESEM. The electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12 thin film electrodes are evaluated by galvanostatic cycling test. The kinetic behavior of lithium ions in Li4Ti5O12 thin film electrodes is also conducted using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Li4Ti5O12 thin film electrodes show favorable specific capacities and cycle performance. The chemical diffusion coefficients are found to be in a range of 10−15 to 10−12 cm2 s−1 determined by GITT method. The kinetic parameters obtained from impedance spectra as a function of the cell voltage are investigated in details. The decrease of the charge-transfer resistance (Rct) can be explained by the two-phase transition during lithium insertion into Li4Ti5O12.