Preparation and characterization of Li4Ti5O12 thin films by rapid thermal annealing

Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ thin films were prepared by solution deposition followed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The structural and electrochemical properties of the film were comparatively studied with the one prepared by conventional furnace annealing (CFA) through X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic lithium insertion–extraction experiments, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that the film prepared by RTA is homogeneous, crack-free, and pure spinel phase, and its grain size is smaller than that of the film prepared by CFA. The lithium extraction capacity of the film prepared by RTA is 59.5 μAh cm^?2 μm^?1, which is higher than 55.9 μAh cm^?2 μm^?1 of the film prepared by CFA. The capacity loss of the film prepared by RTA after being cycled 50 times is 3.1 %, which is 3.2 % lower than that of 6.3 % for the film prepared by CFA.