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Facile preparation of unique three-dimensional (3D) α-MnO2/MWCNTs macroporous hybrid as the high-performance cathode of rechargeable Li-O2 batteries

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Abstract

Undoubtedly, there remains an urgent prerequisite to achieve significant advances in both the specific capacity and cyclability of Li-O2 batteries for their practical application. In this work, a series of unique three-dimensional (3D) α-MnO2/MWCNTs hybrids are successfully prepared using a facile lyophilization method and investigated as the cathode of Li-O2 batteries. Thereinto, cross-linked α-MnO2/MWCNTs nanocomposites are first synthesized via a modified chemical route. Results demonstrate that MnO2 nanorods in the nanocomposites have a length of 100–400 nm and a diameter ranging from 5 to 10 nm, and more attractively, the as-lyophilized 3D MnO2/MWCNTs hybrids is uniquely constructed with large amounts of interconnected macroporous channels. The Li-O2 battery with the 3D macroporous hybrid cathode that has a mass percentage of 50% of α-MnO2 delivers a high discharge specific capacity of 8,643 mAh·g−1 at 100 mA·g−1, and maintains over 90 cycles before the discharge voltage drops to 2.0 V under a controlled specific capacity of 1,000 mAh·g−1. It is observed that when being recharged, the product of toroidal Li2O2 particles disappears and electrode surfaces are well recovered, thus confirming a good reversibility. The excellent performance of Li-O2 battery with the 3D α-MnO2/MWCNTs macroporous hybrid cathode is ascribed to a synergistic combination between the unique macroporous architecture and highly efficient bi-functional α-MnO2/MWCNTs electrocatalyst.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973) (Nos. 2014CB932300 and 2014CB932303), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFB0101201), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21533005 and 21503134).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Fuel Cells, School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Shuiyun Shen, Aiming Wu, Guofeng Xia, Xiaohui Yan, Yao Zhang, Fengjuan Zhu, Jiewei Yin & Junliang Zhang

  2. SJTU-Paris Tech Elite Institute of Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Guanghua Wei

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  1. Shuiyun Shen
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Correspondence to Junliang Zhang.

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Shen, S., Wu, A., Xia, G. et al. Facile preparation of unique three-dimensional (3D) α-MnO2/MWCNTs macroporous hybrid as the high-performance cathode of rechargeable Li-O2 batteries. Nano Res. 12, 69–75 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-018-2182-x

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