Modified Tetrathiafulvalene as an Organic Conductor for Improving Performances of Li-O2 Batteries

Jinqiang Zhang; Bing Sun; Yufei Zhao; Katja Kretschmer; Guoxiu Wang

doi:10.1002/anie.201703784

Modified Tetrathiafulvalene as an Organic Conductor for Improving Performances of Li-O₂ Batteries

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Jul 10;56(29):8505-8509. doi: 10.1002/anie.201703784. Epub 2017 May 23.

Authors

Jinqiang Zhang¹, Bing Sun¹, Yufei Zhao¹, Katja Kretschmer¹, Guoxiu Wang¹

Affiliation

¹ Centre for Clean Energy Technology, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia.

PMID: 28544387
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201703784

Abstract

Large over-potentials owing to the sluggish kinetics of battery reactions have always been the drawbacks of Li-O₂ batteries, which lead to short cycle life. Although redox mediators have been intensively investigated to overcome this issue, side-reactions are generally induced by the solvated nature of redox mediators. Herein, we report an alternative method to achieve more efficient utilization of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) in Li-O₂ batteries. By coordinating TTF⁺ with LiCl during charging, an organic conductor TTF⁺ Cl_x^- precipitate covers Li₂ O₂ to provide an additional electron-transfer pathway on the surface, which can significantly reduce the charge over-potential, improve the energy efficiency of Li-O₂ batteries, and eliminate side-reactions between the lithium metal anode and TTF⁺ . When a porous graphene electrode is used, the Li-O₂ battery combined with TTF and LiCl shows an outstanding performance and prolonged cycle life.

Keywords: TTF; lithium-oxygen batteries; organic conductors; redox mediators.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't