A Safe and Sustainable Lithium‐Ion–Oxygen Battery based on a Low‐Cost Dual‐Carbon Electrodes Architecture
Huijun Yang, Yu Qiao, Zhi Chang, Han Deng, Ping He, Haoshen Zhou
Abstract
Abstract People anticipate high‐energy‐density battery technology with better security, stability, and sustainability. By tuning the advantage of specific capacity, the lithium‐metal anode is replaced with a graphite intercalation compound and a conceptual prototype lithium‐ion–oxygen battery based on a low‐cost dual‐carbon electrodes architecture is proposed. The lithium‐ion involves a (de)intercalation process into the graphite anode and an O 2 /Li 2 O 2 redox conversion on the carbon‐nanotube cathode. After a thorough examination as to the electrode compatibility with current electrolytes, a nonflammable fluorinated ether electrolyte is proposed to render a highly coordinated solvation sheath and low lithium salt concentration (1 mol). Herein, the compatibility with graphite anode is investigated, which maintains high capacity retention (88.1%) after long‐term lifespan (over 1 year). In view of the ultrahigh reversibility (average Coulombic efficiency over 99.93%) of the graphite anode, a lithium‐ion–oxygen coin cell with high depth‐of‐discharge of 80% and 60% deliver a satisfactory life over 150 and 300 cycles, respectively. Moreover, systematic spectroscopy characterizations demonstrate a reversible and efficient 2e – O 2 /Li 2 O 2 redox reaction without relying on noble‐metal catalysts. Lastly, in the engineering aspect, a high‐energy‐density pouch cell (302.52 W h kg −1 based on the weight of the entire pouch) with cost‐effective and environmentally friendly carbon‐composed cell components is successfully fabricated.