Plasma-enhanced cycling durability of a Mo2C decorated N-doped carbon nanofiber electrocatalyst for Li–O2 battery cathodes

Abstract

Enhancing the discharge–charge durability of lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) is an urgent task for accelerating their commercial process. Here, we report our findings on the exploration of glow discharge plasma (GDP) in improving the durability of the Mo₂C quantum dots decorated N-doped carbon nanofiber (Mo₂C@NCF) electrocatalyst. When employed in LOBs, the Mo₂C@ NCF electrode treated with GDP (GDP-Mo₂C@NCF) delivers a significantly enhanced discharge–charge stability, sustaining over 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g⁻¹ with a cut-off capacity of 1000 mA h g⁻¹. The GDP treatment breaks the native MoO_x passivation layer on the surface of Mo₂C quantum dots and promotes the formation of an interfacial Mo–N bond between Mo₂C and the N doped in carbon fibers, leading to the enhanced cycling durability. The work opens a promising avenue for improving the performance of LOBs through a facile surface modification.