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In situ, facile synthesis of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3/nitrogen-doped graphene: a high-performance catalyst for rechargeable Li-O2 batteries

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Abstract

We have successfully devised a simple method to synthesize La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 with nitrogen-doped graphene composites (LSM/NrGO) and investigated their catalytic performance in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Interestingly, the LSM/NrGO composites demonstrate outstanding catalytic performance in ORR, including high limiting current density and superior onset potential, compared to bare LSM nanocrystals or nitrogen-doped graphene, showing a performance close to that of commercial Pt/C. Moreover, Li-O2 batteries assembled based on the LSM/NrGO catalysts exhibited brilliant performance, especially during long-term cycling, where the terminal discharge voltage still exceeded 2.31 V after 360 cycles. The excellent catalytic performance is mainly attributed to the large specific surface area (152.24 m2 g−1) of the materials, which provides many catalytic active sites, and the mesoporous structure (2 to 50 nm), which can facilitate the penetration of oxygen molecules into the surface of the nanoparticles and mass transfer.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21171060) and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-12-0643). LZG thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21671096 and 21603094), Shenzhen Peacock Plan (KQCX20140522150815065), the Natural Science Foundation of Shenzhen (JCYJ20150331101823677, JCYJ20150630145302231) and the Science and Technology Innovation Foundation for the Undergraduates of SUSTC (2015x19 and 2015x12).

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  1. Xinli Chen and Susu Chen contributed equally to the work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Xinli Chen, Susu Chen, Fanli Jia & Hong Deng

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China

    Bo Nan & Zhouguang Lu

  3. School of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Hong Deng

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  1. Xinli Chen
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Correspondence to Zhouguang Lu or Hong Deng.

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Chen, X., Chen, S., Nan, B. et al. In situ, facile synthesis of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3/nitrogen-doped graphene: a high-performance catalyst for rechargeable Li-O2 batteries. Ionics 23, 2241–2250 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-017-2079-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-017-2079-9

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