Influence of the substrate material on the properties of pulsed laser deposited thin Li1+xMn2O4−δ films

Thin Li1+xMn2O4−δ films were deposited on several substrate materials (stainless steel, p-doped silicon and glassy carbon) by pulsed laser deposition. To obtain the correct thin film stoichiometries, targets with a different amount of excess lithium were required (Li1.03Mn2O4 + xLi2O; x = 2.5 and 7.5 mol%). The resulting polycrystalline thin films were characterized with respect to their morphology and electrochemical activity. It was found that only thin Li1+xMn2O4−δ films deposited on stainless steel and glassy carbon showed the typical insertion and deinsertion peaks of Li+ during cycling.