Nano-sized copper tungstate thin films as positive electrodes for rechargeable Li batteries

Abstract

Nano-sized CuWO 4 thin films have been fabricated by radio-frequency (R.F.) sputtering deposition, and are used as positive electrode with both LiClO 4 liquid electrolyte and LiPON solid electrolyte in rechargeable lithium batteries. An initial discharge capacity of 192 and 210 mAh/g is obtainable for CuWO 4 film electrode with and without coated LiPON in liquid electrolyte, respectively. An all-solid-state cell with Li/LiPON/CuWO 4 layers shows a high-volume rate capacity of 145 μAh/cm 2 μm in first discharge, and overcomes the unfavorable electrochemical degradation observed in liquid electrolyte system. A two-step reactive mechanism is investigated by both transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction techniques. Apart from the extrusion and injection of Cu 2+/Cu 0, additional capacity can be achieved by the reversible reactivity of (WO 4) 2− framework. The chemical diffusion coefficients of Li intercalation/deintercalation are estimated by cyclic voltammetry. Nano-CuWO 4 thin film is expected to be a promising positive electrode material for high-performance rechargeable thin-film lithium batteries.