High-rate lithium ion batteries with flat plateau based on self-nanoporous structure of tin electrode

Tin film as a negative electrode in Li-ion secondary batteries with a flat plateau in the potential vs charge relationship even at a high rate (high current density) were fabricated. The self-nanoporous structure, which means that electrode becomes nanoporous after charge/discharge cycling, due to the lithium insertion/extraction during high-rate charge/discharge, high lithium diffusion coefficients, and metallic conductivity based on tin and tin-lithium alloy, are suitable for the high-rate property. The flat plateau of charge/discharge behavior indicates that this lithium storage device is not a super-capacitor but a secondary battery. This is the first report of a high-rate lithium secondary battery with a flat plateau.