Optical, morphological properties and surface energy of the transparent Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) thin film as anode material for secondary type batteries

Abstract

LTO thin film was deposited for the first time on a glass microscope slide (MS) by RF magnetron sputtering technology. This method has been suitable for preparation of high-quality thin films. The surface properties of the produced film were determined by atomic force microscope (AFM). The surface of the produced film appeared smooth and homogeneous. LTO coated on MS had compact structure and low roughness. A UV-vis spectrophotometer was used to determine intensity of light passing through the samples. Thus, according to the results obtained the produced film was highly transparent. The refractive index of the LTO thin film was presented in a low MSE value by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and it was about 1.5. The optical band gap (Eg) was determined by the Tauc method. The produced LTO thin film exhibited a wide band gap semiconductor property with a band gap energy of about 2.95 eV. Finally, the surface free energy of the LTO thin film was calculated from the contact angle measurements using the Lewis acid-base, OWRK/Fowkes, Wu and Zisman methods. © 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.