The transition metal nitride thin film electrodes are the potential electrode materials for the all-solid-state thin film lithium-ion batteries. In this study, the orthorhombic Hf3N4 thin film electrodes applied to the research of lithium-ion batteries were fabricated by the magnetron sputtering deposition of Hf followed by the N2 plasma immersion and post annealing for the first time. This electrode material without additives such as binders and conductive agents exhibits high specific capacity, high cycling stability, and excellent rate performance. At a current density of 0.1 A g-1, the initial discharge capacity is 583.2 mA h g-1 and the stable coulombic efficiency is 96.6 %. At a high current density of 2 A g-1, the Hf3N4 thin film electrodes can still provide a stable discharge capacity of about 260 mA h g-1 and the coulombic efficiency is close to 100 %. By analyzing the cyclic voltammetry curves at different scan rates, it is found that the Li+ storage in Hf3N4 thin film electrodes is mainly contributed by the pseudo-capacitance mechanism.
