Fabrication of Nano-Channeled Tin Oxide Film Electrode and Evaluation of Its Electrochemical Properties

Abstract

Thin film electrode consisting purely of porous anodic tin oxide with well-defined nano-channeled structure was fabricated for the first time and its electrochemical properties were investigated for application to an anode in a rechargeable lithium battery. To prepare the thin film electrode, first, a bi-layer of porous anodic tin oxides with well-defined nano-channels and discrete nano-channels with lots of lateral micro-cracks was prepared by pulsed and continuous anodization processes, respectively. Subsequent to the Cu coating on the layer, well-defined nano-channeled tin oxide was mechanically separated from the specimen, leading to an electrode comprised of porous tin oxide and a Cu current collector. The porous tin oxide nearly maintained its initial nano-structured character in spite of there being a series of fabrication steps. The resulting tin oxide film electrode reacted reversibly with lithium as an anode in a rechargeable lithium battery. Moreover, the tin oxide showed far more enhanced cycling stability than that of powders obtained from anodic tin oxides, strongly indicating that this thin film electrode is mechanically more stable against cycling-induced internal stress. In spite of the enhanced cycling stability, however, the reduction in the initial irreversible capacity and additional improvement of cycling stability are still needed to allow for practical use.