Li2O2, as the cathodic discharge product of aprotic Li-O2 batteries, is difficult to electrochemically decompose. Transition-metal oxides (TMOs) have been proven to play a critical role in promoting the formation and decomposition of Li2O2. Herein, a NiO/CNT catalyst was prepared by anchoring a NiO nanosheet on the surface of CNT. When using the NiO/CNT as a cathode catalyst, the Li-O2 battery had a lower overpotential of 1.2 V and could operate 81 cycles with a limited specific capacity of 1000 mA h g-1 at a current density of 100 mA g-1. In comparison, with CNT as a cathodic catalyst, the battery could achieve an overpotential of 1.64 V and a cycling stability of 66 cycles. The introduction of NiO effectively accelerated the generation and decomposition rate of Li2O2, further improving the battery performance. SEM and XRD characterizations confirmed that a Li2O2 film formed during the discharge process and could be fully electrochemical decomposed in the charge process. The internal network and nanoporous structure of the NiO/CNT catalyst could provide more oxygen diffusion channels and accelerate the decomposition rate of Li2O2. These merits led to the Li-O2 battery's better performance.
Keywords: Li-O2 battery; electrocatalyst; porous NiO nanosheet; transition-metal oxides.