A novel solid-state Li–O2 battery with an integrated electrolyte and cathode structure

A high internal resistance and limited triple-phase boundaries are two critical issues that limit the performance of conventional solid-state Li–O2 batteries. In this work, we propose and fabricate a novel solid-state Li–O2 battery with an integrated electrolyte and cathode structure. This design allows a thin electrolyte layer (about 10% of that in conventional batteries) and a highly porous cathode (78% in porosity), both of which contribute to a significant reduction in the internal resistance, while increasing triple-phase boundaries. As a result, the battery outputs a discharge capacity as high as 14 200 mA h gcarbon−1 at 0.15 mA cm−2, and can sustain 100 cycles at a fixed capacity of 1000 mA h gcarbon−1. The novel integrated electrolyte and cathode structure represents a significant step toward the advancement of Li–O2 batteries.