641
Views
89
Crossref
N/A
WoS
90
Scopus
12
CSCD
A nanocomposite of CoO and a mesoporous carbon (CMK-3) has been studied as a cathode catalyst for lithium-oxygen batteries in alkyl carbonate electrolytes. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared nanocomposite were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical properties of the mesoporous CoO/CMK-3 nanocomposite as a cathode catalyst in lithium-oxygen batteries were studied using galvanostatic charge-discharge methods. The reaction products on the cathode were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The CoO/CMK-3 nanocomposite exhibited better capacity retention than bare mesoporous CMK-3 carbon, Super-P carbon or CoO/Super-P nanocomposite. The synergistic effects arising from the combination of CoO nanoparticles and the mesoporous carbon nanoarchitecture may be responsible for the optimum catalytic performance in lithium-oxygen batteries.
This project was financially supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) through the ARC Discovery project (DP1093855), ARC FT project (FT110100800), and the National Research Foundation of Korea through the WCU (World Class University) program (R32-2008-000-20093-0). We also acknowledge the support from the 3rd Aus-China Symposium for Materials Science.