Lithium compounds electrodeposition

It was recognized that this dendrite problem could not be solved without completely changing the negative electrode. Instead of electrodepositing metal, the anode reaction of choice was found to be storage of lithium in compounds with chemical potentials of lithium being very close to the pure Li metal. 

Since metallic Sn has a high capacity for reversible Li insertion, pure Sn as well as its intermetallic compounds have been considered as promising anode materials in lithium ion batteries. In intermetallic compounds of Sn, the second metal is normally electrochemically inactive and cannot be alloyed with Li. Such an inactive metal performs as a buffer to accommodate volume variations during Li insertion/deinsertion in Sn.224 Among various Sn intermetallic compounds, Ni3Sn4232-235 and CU6S115236 237 are the most commonly studied materials. Intermetallic compounds of Sn with Ni and Cu can be electrochemically deposited. Templates are conventionally used to improve the morphological properties and, thus, the electrochemical behavior of the electrodeposited Sn and Sn intermetallic compounds. Copper nanopillars can be electrodeposited within alumina templates on a Cu foil to provide a unique template for the subsequent electrodeposition of Sn or its intermetallic compounds. 

Lopez, M. C., Ortiz, G. F., Lavela, R, Alcantara, R, and Tirado, J. L. (2013]. Improved coulombic efficiency in nanocomposite thin film based on electrodeposited-oxidized FeNi-electrodes for lithium-ion batteries,/. Alloys Compounds, 557, pp. 82-90. 

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