Ceramic superconducting materials as intercalation cathodes in secondary non-aqueous lithium batteries

Electrodes formed from PTFE bound (Ta1/2Cu1/2) Sr2GdCu2O8 − d, were cycled in 1 M LiAsF6/propylene carbonate electrolyte using cyclic voltammetry. It has been demonstrated that the cyclic voltammograms measured below 2.0 mV s−1 exhibit a well defined reversible multipeaked wave. Prototype cells incorporating both PTFE bound and thin highly porous films of (Ta1/2Cu1/2)Sr2GdCu2O8 − d exhibited an initial discharge with two well defined voltage steps. Subsequent discharge cycles only retain characteristics of the higher voltage step suggesting that the process characterised by the low voltage step is irreversible.