Biologically enhanced cathode design for improved capacity and cycle life for lithium-oxygen batteries

Lithium-oxygen batteries have a great potential to enhance the gravimetric energy density of fully packaged batteries by two to three times that of lithium ion cells. Recent studies have focused on finding stable electrolytes to address poor cycling capability and improve practical limitations of current lithium-oxygen batteries. In this study, the catalyst electrode, where discharge products are deposited and decomposed, was investigated as it has a critical role in the operation of rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries. Here we report the electrode design principle to improve specific capacity and cycling performance of lithium-oxygen batteries by utilizing high-efficiency nanocatalysts assembled by M13 virus with earth-abundant elements such as manganese oxides. By incorporating only 3-5 wt% of palladium nanoparticles in the electrode, this hybrid nanocatalyst achieves 13,350 mAh g(-1)(c) (7,340 mAh g(-1)(c+catalyst)) of specific capacity at 0.4 A g(-1)(c) and a stable cycle life up to 50 cycles (4,000 mAh g(-1)(c), 400 mAh g(-1)(c+catalyst)) at 1 A g(-1)(c).

[1]  M. Zheng,et al.  α-MnO2 nanorods grown in situ on graphene as catalysts for Li–O2 batteries with excellent electrochemical performance , 2012 .

[2]  Hun‐Gi Jung,et al.  An improved high-performance lithium-air battery. , 2012, Nature chemistry.

[3]  Thomas A. Carlson,et al.  Use of X‐Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy to Study Bonding in Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co Compounds , 1972 .

[4]  P. Bruce,et al.  A Reversible and Higher-Rate Li-O2 Battery , 2012, Science.

[5]  Jasim Ahmed,et al.  A Critical Review of Li/Air Batteries , 2011 .

[6]  J. Maier,et al.  High Lithium Electroactivity of Nanometer‐Sized Rutile TiO2 , 2006 .

[7]  Trevor Douglas,et al.  Biological Containers: Protein Cages as Multifunctional Nanoplatforms , 2007 .

[8]  D. Portehault,et al.  Structural and morphological control of manganese oxide nanoparticles upon soft aqueous precipitation through MnO4−/Mn2+ reaction , 2009 .

[9]  T. Truong,et al.  Morphological and crystalline evolution of nanostructured MnO2 and its application in lithium--air batteries. , 2012, ACS nano.

[10]  Shuguang Zhang.  Fabrication of novel biomaterials through molecular self-assembly , 2003, Nature Biotechnology.

[11]  J. Tarascon,et al.  Biosynthesis of Co3O4 electrode materials by peptide and phage engineering: comprehension and future , 2012 .

[12]  S. Ikeda,et al.  X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of manganese—oxygen systems , 1975 .

[13]  E. Gaino,et al.  Biomimetic model of a sponge-spicular optical fiber—mechanical properties and structure , 2001 .

[14]  Xueliang Sun,et al.  Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as cathode for lithium–air batteries , 2011 .

[15]  Yun Jung Lee,et al.  Fabricating Genetically Engineered High-Power Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Multiple Virus Genes , 2009, Science.

[16]  L. Nazar,et al.  The role of vacancies and defects in Na0.44MnO2 nanowire catalysts for lithium–oxygen batteries , 2012 .

[17]  S. Stupp,et al.  Self-Assembly and Mineralization of Peptide-Amphiphile Nanofibers , 2001, Science.

[18]  Yang Shao-Horn,et al.  Probing the Reaction Kinetics of the Charge Reactions of Nonaqueous Li-O2 Batteries. , 2013, The journal of physical chemistry letters.

[19]  Yuhui Chen,et al.  The lithium-oxygen battery with ether-based electrolytes. , 2011, Angewandte Chemie.

[20]  Z. Wen,et al.  A free-standing-type design for cathodes of rechargeable Li–O2 batteries , 2011 .

[21]  Jens K. Nørskov,et al.  Theoretical surface science and catalysis—calculations and concepts , 2000 .

[22]  Feng Li,et al.  High-energy MnO2 nanowire/graphene and graphene asymmetric electrochemical capacitors. , 2010, ACS nano.

[23]  刘宇,et al.  A free-standing-type design for cathodes of rechargeable Li-O(2) batteries , 2011 .

[24]  G. Cardenas,et al.  Thermal properties and TGA–FTIR studies of polyacrylic and polymethacrylic acid doped with metal clusters , 2000 .

[25]  Itaru Honma,et al.  Synthesis of single crystalline spinel LiMn2O4 nanowires for a lithium ion battery with high power density. , 2009, Nano letters.

[26]  M. W. Chase.  NIST–JANAF Thermochemical Tables for the Bromine Oxides , 1996 .

[27]  Qiang He,et al.  Controlled Preparation of MnO2 Hierarchical Hollow Nanostructures and Their Application in Water Treatment , 2008 .

[28]  Daeyeon Lee,et al.  Biologically templated photocatalytic nanostructures for sustained light-driven water oxidation. , 2010, Nature nanotechnology.

[29]  Xin Zhao,et al.  The role of nanomaterials in redox-based supercapacitors for next generation energy storage devices. , 2011, Nanoscale.

[30]  Hubert A. Gasteiger,et al.  Effect of Carbon Surface Area on First Discharge Capacity of Li-O2 Cathodes and Cycle-Life Behavior in Ether-Based Electrolytes , 2012 .

[31]  Hun‐Gi Jung,et al.  Ruthenium-based electrocatalysts supported on reduced graphene oxide for lithium-air batteries. , 2013, ACS nano.

[32]  D. Morse,et al.  Silicatein and the Translation of Its Molecular Mechanism of Biosilicification into Low Temperature Nanomaterial Synthesis , 2009 .

[33]  Hang Shi,et al.  Activated carbons and double layer capacitance , 1996 .

[34]  Kang Xu,et al.  Graphene sheets stabilized on genetically engineered M13 viral templates as conducting frameworks for hybrid energy-storage materials. , 2012, Small.

[35]  Shuo Chen,et al.  Platinum-gold nanoparticles: a highly active bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable lithium-air batteries. , 2010, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[36]  Guangyuan Zheng,et al.  Rechargeable Li–O2 batteries with a covalently coupled MnCo2O4–graphene hybrid as an oxygen cathode catalyst , 2012 .

[37]  Hubert A. Gasteiger,et al.  Catalytic activity trends of oxygen reduction reaction for nonaqueous Li-air batteries. , 2011, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[38]  Yang Shao-Horn,et al.  Chemical and Morphological Changes of Li–O2 Battery Electrodes upon Cycling , 2012 .

[39]  J. Nørskov,et al.  Twin Problems of Interfacial Carbonate Formation in Nonaqueous Li-O2 Batteries. , 2012, The journal of physical chemistry letters.

[40]  George Georgiou,et al.  Virus-Based Toolkit for the Directed Synthesis of Magnetic and Semiconducting Nanowires , 2004, Science.

[41]  Betar M. Gallant,et al.  All-carbon-nanofiber electrodes for high-energy rechargeable Li–O2 batteries , 2011 .

[42]  Excellent catalytic and electrochemical properties of the mesoporous MnO2 nanospheres/nanosheets , 2010 .

[43]  Hiroshi Matsui,et al.  Room Temperature Synthesis of Ferroelectric Barium Titanate Nanoparticles Using Peptide Nanorings as Templates , 2006, Advanced materials.

[44]  Ye Xu,et al.  O2 reduction by lithium on Au(111) and Pt(111). , 2010, The Journal of chemical physics.

[45]  Hubert A. Gasteiger,et al.  The Influence of Catalysts on Discharge and Charge Voltages of Rechargeable Li–Oxygen Batteries , 2010 .

[46]  T. Ishihara,et al.  Pd / MnO2 Air Electrode Catalyst for Rechargeable Lithium/Air Battery , 2010 .

[47]  R. Li,et al.  Superior energy capacity of graphene nanosheets for a nonaqueous lithium-oxygen battery. , 2011, Chemical communications.

[48]  D. Portehault,et al.  Morphology Control of Cryptomelane Type MnO2 Nanowires by Soft Chemistry. Growth Mechanisms in Aqueous Medium , 2007 .

[49]  W. Bennett,et al.  Hierarchically porous graphene as a lithium-air battery electrode. , 2011, Nano letters.

[50]  X. H. Wu,et al.  Control of crystal phase switching and orientation by soluble mollusc-shell proteins , 1996, Nature.

[51]  R M Shelby,et al.  Solvents' Critical Role in Nonaqueous Lithium-Oxygen Battery Electrochemistry. , 2011, The journal of physical chemistry letters.

[52]  K. M. Abraham,et al.  A Polymer Electrolyte‐Based Rechargeable Lithium/Oxygen Battery , 1996 .

[53]  B. McCloskey,et al.  Lithium−Air Battery: Promise and Challenges , 2010 .

[54]  M. Chigane,et al.  Manganese Oxide Thin Film Preparation by Potentiostatic Electrolyses and Electrochromism , 2000 .

[55]  A. Belcher,et al.  Biotemplated Synthesis of Perovskite Nanomaterials for Solar Energy Conversion , 2012, Advanced materials.

[56]  Zaiping Guo,et al.  Layered δ-MnO2 as positive electrode for lithium intercalation , 2011 .

[57]  Li-Jun Wan,et al.  LiFePO4 Nanoparticles Embedded in a Nanoporous Carbon Matrix: Superior Cathode Material for Electrochemical Energy‐Storage Devices , 2009, Advanced materials.

[58]  D. Bethune,et al.  Limitations in Rechargeability of Li-O2 Batteries and Possible Origins. , 2012, The journal of physical chemistry letters.

[59]  Peter G Bruce,et al.  Alpha-MnO2 nanowires: a catalyst for the O2 electrode in rechargeable lithium batteries. , 2008, Angewandte Chemie.

[60]  M. W. Chase.  NIST-JANAF thermochemical tables , 1998 .

[61]  In-Hwan Oh,et al.  A transmission electron microscopy study of the electrochemical process of lithium-oxygen cells. , 2012, Nano letters.