A nano-architectured porous electrode assembly of copper rich Cu6Sn5 thin film for rechargeable lithium batteries

[Display omitted] ► A nano-architectured porous electrode assembly of Cu6Sn5 thin film was produced. ► Electrode’s composition and architecture effects on its performance were shown. ► An electrode with high capacity and long cycle life was produced by OAD method. Cu and Sn are codeposited on a copper substrate via electron beam evaporation deposition method to form a nano porous thin film anode. The galvanostatic charge–discharge results show that the nano porous Cu6.26Sn5 thin film performs 784mAhg−1 as first discharge capacity. A capacity fade is observed during the first three cycles, this sharp capacity decay has disappeared and a progressive increase in the capacity is observed up to 40th cycles. Then, a steady state regime has begun and continued up to 60th cycles. The enhanced electrochemical properties of the nano porous, structured Cu–Sn composite thin film is attributed to its particular composition, morphology and structure.