Chemistry of Sputter-Deposited Lithium Sulfide Films

Journal Article · Fri Jul 21 04:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b03379· OSTI ID:1413626

Klein, Michael J. ^[1]; Veith, Gabriel M. ^[2]; Manthiram, Arumugam ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX (United States)
2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Lithium sulfide (Li₂S) is under intense study because it is the insulating discharge product of ultra-high energy density lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries and a candidate cathode material for lithium metal-free Li-S cells. In this work, we report the fabrication of an apparatus for sputter deposition of Li₂S films ranging in thickness from a few nanometers to several microns at rates over 2 nm min^-1. High-temperature annealing of the films is shown to produce crystalline films of high chemical purity Li₂S for the first time. We provide evidence that sputter deposition produces a unique sulfide structure composed of chains of Li₂S units, and that the electrochemistry of these films is markedly different from annealed crystalline Li₂S, which is shown to be electrochemically inactive. Lastly, we explore trends in the plasma chemistry that lead to nonstoichiometry and depth inhomogeneity during Li₂S sputter deposition.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1413626
• Journal Information: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Issue: 31 Vol. 139; ISSN 0002-7863
• Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE