High-performance thin-film Li4Ti5O12 electrodes fabricated by using ink-jet printing technique and their electrochemical properties

Li4Ti5O12 thin-film anode with high discharge capacity and excellent cycle stability for rechargeable lithium ion batteries was prepared successfully by using ink-jet printing technique. The prepared Li4Ti5O12 thin film were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammograms, and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements. It was found that the average thickness of 10-layer Li4Ti5O12 film was about 1.7 similar to 1.8 mu m and the active material Li4Ti5O12 in the thin film was nano-sized about 50-300 nm. It was also found that the prepared Li4Ti5O12 thin film exhibited a high discharge capacity of about 174 mAh/g and the discharge capacity in the 300th cycle retained 88% of the largest discharge capacity at a current density of 10.4 mu A/cm(2) in the potential range of 1.0-2.0 V.