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New Electrode and Electrolyte Configurations for Lithium‐Oxygen Battery
Author(s) -
Ulissi Ulderico,
Elia Giuseppe Antonio,
Jeong Sangsik,
Reiter Jakub,
Tsiouvaras Nikolaos,
Passerini Stefano,
Hassoun Jusef
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201704293
Subject(s) - electrolyte , electrochemistry , anode , electrode , polarization (electrochemistry) , materials science , lithium (medication) , oxygen , cathode , inorganic chemistry , oxygen evolution , chemical engineering , battery (electricity) , ionic liquid , chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , medicine , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering , endocrinology
Cathode configurations reported herein are alternative to the most diffused ones for application in lithium‐oxygen batteries, using an ionic liquid‐based electrolyte. The electrodes employ high surface area conductive carbon as the reaction host, and polytetrafluoroethylene as the binding agent to enhance the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR)/oxygen evolution reaction (OER) reversibility. Roll‐pressed, self‐standing electrodes (SSEs) and thinner, spray deposited electrodes (SDEs) are characterized in lithium‐oxygen cells using an ionic liquid (IL) based electrolyte formed by mixing lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) salt and N , N ‐diethyl‐ N‐( 2‐methoxyethyl)‐ N ‐methylammonium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (DEMETFSI). The electrochemical results reveal reversible reactions for both electrode configurations, but improved electrochemical performance for the self‐standing electrodes in lithium‐oxygen cells. These electrodes show charge/discharge polarizations at 60 °C limited to 0.4 V, with capacity up to 1 mAh cm −2 and energy efficiency of about 88 %, while the spray deposited electrodes reveal, under the same conditions, a polarization of 0.6 V and energy efficiency of 80 %. The roll pressed electrode combined with the DEMETFSI‐LiTFSI electrolyte and a composite Li x Sn‐C alloy anode forms a full Li‐ion oxygen cell showing extremely limited polarization, and remarkable energy efficiency.