Manganese dioxide (MnO2) has been shown to be effective for improving the efficiency of cathodes in lithium-air cells. Different crystallographic phases including α-, β-, and γ-MnO2 nanowires, α-MnO2 nanospheres, and α-MnO2 nanowires on carbon (α-MnO2/C) were synthesized using the hydrothermal method. Their physical properties were examined using x-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurements, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and found to be in agreement with the literature. Electrochemical properties of the synthesized catalyst particles were investigated by fabricating cathodes and testing them in a lithium-air cell with lithium hexafluorophosphate in propylene carbonate (LiPF6/PC) and tetra(ethylene glycol)dimethyl ether (LiTFSi/TEGDME) electrolytes. α-MnO2 had the highest discharge capacity in the LiTFSi/TEGDME electrolyte (2500 mAh/g), whilst α-MnO2/C in LiPF6/PC showed a significantly higher discharge capacity of 11,000 mAh/g based on total mass of the catalytic cathode. However, the latter showed poor capacity retention compared with γ-MnO2 nanowires, which was stable for up to 30 cycles. The reported discharge capacity is higher than recorded in previous studies on lithium-air cells.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
S. Mui, Natural Resources Defence Council Blog, Achieving Obama’s Goal of One Million Plug-in Electric Vehicles is Eminently Doable, 02 February 2011, http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/smui/achieving_obamas_goal_of_one_m.html. Accessed 16 March 2012
K.M. Abraham and Z.J. Jiang, Electrochem. Soc. 143, 1 (1996).
H. Cheng and K. Scott, J. Power Sources 195, 1370 (2010).
A. Debart, A.J. Paterson, J. Bao, and P.G. Bruce, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 47, 4521 (2008).
A.K. Thapa and T. Ishihara, J. Power Sources (2010), doi:10.1016/j.jpowsour.2010.09.112.
W. Xu, J. Xiao, D. Wang, J. Zhang, and J.-G Zhang, Electrochem. Solid-State Lett., 13 (2010)
C. Laoire, S. Mukerjee, and K.M. Abraham, J. Phys. Chem. C, 114, 9178 (2010).
J. Xiao, D. Wang, J. Zhang, and J. Zhang, J. Electrochem. Soc. 157, A219–A224 (2010).
A. Debart, J. Bao, G. Armstrong, and P.G. Bruce, J. Power Sources 174, 1177–1182 (2007).
T. Ogasawara, A. Débart, M. Holzapfel, P. Novák, and P.G. Bruce, JACS 128, 1390 (2006).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Oloniyo, O., Kumar, S. & Scott, K. Performance of MnO2 Crystallographic Phases in Rechargeable Lithium-Air Oxygen Cathode. J. Electron. Mater. 41, 921–927 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2046-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2046-1