Materials and structure engineering by magnetron sputtering for advanced lithium batteries

Lithium batteries are the most promising electrochemical energy storage devices while the development of high-performance battery materials is becoming a bottleneck. It is necessary to design and fabricate new materials with novel structure to further improve the electrochemical performance of the batteries. Magnetron sputtering is a physical vapor deposition technique that has the advantages of wide deposition range, fast deposition speed, easy control, large coating area, and strong film adhesion. These merits have led to magnetron sputtering being widely applied in the preparation and modification of materials used in lithium batteries. This review provides a systematic summary on magnetron sputtering in terms of lithium batteries: 1) The development of magnetron sputtering structure and mechanism is summarized, and a detailed comparison of advantages between magnetron sputtering and other vapor deposition equipment, including Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), Thermal Evaporation (TE), Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD), is provided. 2) Various applications of magnetron sputtering in the evolution of important materials for lithium batteries is discussed, according to the classification of battery components, including electrode materials, solid-state-electrolytes, and other battery components (separators, interlayers, current collectors etc.). In particular, the fabrication of artificial solid–electrolyte interphase films on the surface of anodes with high specific energy is described emphatically because this application may guide the future development direction of magnetron sputtering in lithium batteries. 3) Future prospects are proposed from the development of the device itself and its application in lithium batteries, in order to guide subsequent research and promote the development of magnetron sputtering as well as lithium batteries.