Synthesis of Porous δ‐MnO2 Submicron Tubes as Highly Efficient Electrocatalyst for Rechargeable Li–O2 Batteries. Issue 11 (5th May 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Peng; Sun, Dongfei; He, Mu; Lang, Junwei; Xu, Shan; Yan, Xingbin
• Is Part Of: ChemSusChem. Volume 8:Issue 11(2015:Jun.)
• Page Start: 1972
• Page End: 1979
• Publication Date: 2015-05-05
• Subjects: Green chemistry -- Periodicals; Sustainable engineering -- Periodicals; Chemistry -- Periodicals; Chemical engineering -- Periodicals; 660
• DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201500306
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1864-5631

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Lithium–oxygen (Li–O₂) batteries are receiving intense interest because of their high energy density. A new tubular δ‐MnO₂ material prepared by a simple hydrothermal synthesis is an efficient electrocatalyst for Li–O₂ batteries. The synthesized δ‐MnO₂ exhibits a unique tubular structure, in which the porous walls are composed of highly dispersed ultrathin δ‐MnO₂ nanosheets. Such a unique structure and its intrinsic catalytic activity provide the right electrocatalyst characteristics for high‐performance Li–O₂ batteries. As a consequence, suppressed overpotentials—especially the oxygen evolution reaction overpotential—superior rate capability, and desirable cycle life are achieved with these submicron δ‐MnO₂ tubes as the electrocatalyst. Remarkably, the discharge product Li₂O₂ of the Li–O₂ battery exhibits a uniform nanosheet‐like morphology, which indicates the critical role of the δ‐MnO₂ in the electrochemical process, and a mechanism is proposed to analyze the catalysis of δ‐MnO₂.</p> </abstract>