Transition metal hollow nanocages as promising cathodes for the long-term cyclability of Li–O2batteries

Amrita Chatterjee, Siu Wing Or, Yulin Cao

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As a step towards efficient and cost-effective electrocatalytic cathodes for Li–O 2 batteries, highly porous hausmannite-type Mn 3O 4 hollow nanocages (MOHNs) of a large diameter of ~250 nm and a high surface area of 90.65 m 2·g−1 were synthesized and their physicochemical and electrochemical properties were studied in addition to their formation mechanism. A facile approach using carbon spheres as the template and MnCl 2 as the precursor was adopted to suit the purpose. The MOHNs/Ketjenblack cathode-based Li–O 2 battery demonstrated an improved cyclability of 50 discharge–charge cycles at a specific current of 400 mA·g −1 and a specific capacity of 600 mAh·g −1. In contrast, the Ketjenblack cathode-based one can sustain only 15 cycles under the same electrolytic system comprised of 1 M LiTFSI/TEGDME. It is surmised that the unique hollow nanocage morphology of MOHNs is responsible for the high electrochemical performance. The hollow nanocages were a result of the aggregation of crystalline nanoparticles of 25–35 nm size, and the mesoscopic pores between the nanoparticles gave rise to a loosely mesoporous structure for accommodating the volume change in the MOHNs/Ketjenblack cathode during electrocatalytic reactions. The improved cyclic stability is mainly due to the faster mass transport of the O 2 through the mesoscopic pores. This work is comparable to the state-of-the-art experimentations on cathodes for Li–O 2 batteries that focus on the use of non-precious transition materials.

Original languageEnglish
Article number308
JournalNanomaterials
Volume8
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2018

Keywords

  • Cyclic stability
  • Electrocatalytic cathodes
  • Hollow nanocages
  • Li-O batteries
  • Transition metals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • General Chemical Engineering

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