Preparation of RF-sputtered lithium cobalt oxide nanorods by using porous anodic alumina (PAA) template

Recent years have shown a growing interest in the investigation of lithium microbatteries. In this study, LiCoO2 thin-films and nanorods were obtained by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. In order to obtain well-crystallized LiCoO2 nanorods exhibiting excellent electrochemical properties, LiCoO2 films prepared at various sputtering conditions were first investigated by XRD, Raman, SEM, and charge–discharge test to find out a suitable sputtering condition for the nanorod preparation. The 600 °C-annealed LiCoO2 films deposited at 250 °C exhibited the best cycleability and capability, and consequently, these conditions were used to deposit the LiCoO2 nanorods. According to the SEM observations, the LiCoO2 nanorods were successfully deposited into the porous anodic alumina template (thickness and diameter were 300 and 60 nm) under the sputtering conditions. The cyclic voltammogram of 600 °C-annealed LiCoO2 nanorods showed that the sputtered LiCoO2 nanorods exhibited excellent electrochemical reversibility to be used as the cathode material.