Manganese oxides and zinc manganite thin films produced by pulsed laser deposition as cathodes for future Zn-ion batteries.

In this contribution, we report on the synthesis by Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) of manganese oxides ($MnO_{x}$) and zinc manganite ($Zn_{x}Mn_{3-{x}}O_{4}$) nanostructured thin films as candidates for cathodes in rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), which represent a safe and cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries but still suffer from many limitations. PLD is a versatile technique for the synthesis of nanostructured thin films of several materials and with a wide range of properties. The control of deposition parameters like the pressure of background gas and the laser fluence enables one to tailor the morphology, stoichiometry, crystallinity, and phase of the film, which results in tunable optical, electrical, and electrochemical properties. All the films are produced at room temperature and in a wide range of gas pressures using a Nd:YAG laser with 532 nm pulses. Film crystallinity and phase are further modified by post-deposition thermal treatments. Extensive characterization is carried out to link the synthesis conditions to the material structure and properties. Finally, thin films are used as model systems to investigate the electrochemical mechanism.