Issue 10, 2017

Mechanism and performance of lithium–oxygen batteries – a perspective

Abstract

Rechargeable Li–O2 batteries have amongst the highest formal energy and could store significantly more energy than other rechargeable batteries in practice if at least a large part of their promise could be realized. Realization, however, still faces many challenges than can only be overcome by fundamental understanding of the processes taking place. Here, we review recent advances in understanding the chemistry of the Li–O2 cathode and provide a perspective on dominant research needs. We put particular emphasis on issues that are often grossly misunderstood: realistic performance metrics and their reporting as well as identifying reversibility and quantitative measures to do so. Parasitic reactions are the prime obstacle for reversible cell operation and have recently been identified to be predominantly caused by singlet oxygen and not by reduced oxygen species as thought before. We discuss the far reaching implications of this finding on electrolyte and cathode stability, electrocatalysis, and future research needs.

Graphical abstract: Mechanism and performance of lithium–oxygen batteries – a perspective

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
06 Jun 2017
Accepted
31 Jul 2017
First published
31 Jul 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2017,8, 6716-6729

Mechanism and performance of lithium–oxygen batteries – a perspective

N. Mahne, O. Fontaine, M. O. Thotiyl, M. Wilkening and S. A. Freunberger, Chem. Sci., 2017, 8, 6716 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC02519J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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