Issue 11, 2015

A soil/Vulcan XC-72 hybrid as a highly-effective catalytic cathode for rechargeable Li–O2 batteries

Abstract

We report for the first time a hybrid of soil and commercial Vulcan XC-72 carbon (labeled as soil/C) as a high-performance cathode catalyst for rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries. A one-step mixing at room temperature is used to synthesize the soil/C hybrid, in which soil particles (0.5–5 μm) play a role of void volume expanders (VVE) so that the Vulcan XC-72 carbon (∼100 nm) area is fully exposed for the deposition of the discharge product. Meanwhile, the outer & inner catalytic sites of carbon particles are sufficiently utilized. When used as a cathode catalyst for rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries, the soil/C hybrid exhibits a large discharge capacity (7640 mA h g−1), robust cyclability (100 cycles at 0.2 mA cm−2) and superior rate capability. This high performance is not inferior to noble metal containing catalysts. Therefore, soil as a low cost and metal-free VVE in the soil/C hybrid catalyst is promising in the application of rechargeable Li–O2 batteries.

Graphical abstract: A soil/Vulcan XC-72 hybrid as a highly-effective catalytic cathode for rechargeable Li–O2 batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
13 ago. 2015
Accepted
09 sep. 2015
First published
10 sep. 2015

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2015,2, 1006-1010

A soil/Vulcan XC-72 hybrid as a highly-effective catalytic cathode for rechargeable Li–O2 batteries

X. Hu, X. Fu and J. Chen, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2015, 2, 1006 DOI: 10.1039/C5QI00149H

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