Metal sulfide heterojunction with tunable interfacial electronic structure as an efficient catalyst for lithium-oxygen batteries

Abstract

The design and preparation of catalysts with excellent stability and high activity are critical to improving the performance of lithium-oxygen (Li-O 2 ) batteries. Heterostructural catalysts have attracted wide attention due to their tunable structure and effectiveness in promoting oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction kinetics. In this study, CuCo 2 S 4 /CoS 1.097 polymetallic sulfides were proposed as effective electrocatalysts toward oxygen electrode reactions in Li-O 2 batteries. Density functional theory calculations demonstrated that the electronic structure of CuCo 2 S 4 / CoS 1.097 was regulated at the heterogeneous interface, which was beneficial for optimizing the adsorption of intermediates during the reaction, eventually accelerating the sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions. The CuCo 2 S 4 /CoS 1.097based Li-O 2 batteries exhibited a high specific capacity of 26,727.8 mAh g −1 and an outstanding durability of over 267 cycles at 100 mA g −1 . This study provides a new perspective on the design and application of excellent cathode materials in Li-O 2 batteries.

First Principles Study of the Structure–Performance Relation of Pristine Wn+1Cn and Oxygen-Functionalized Wn+1CnO2 MXenes as Cathode Catalysts for Li-O2 Batteries

“…Among all considered WC MXenes, W 4 C 3 O 2 exhibits the lowest OER, ORR, and total overpotentials (0.38, 0.25, and 0.63 V). Furthermore, it is worth noting that the overpotentials ( , , and ) of W 4 C 3 O 2 are lower than those of Nb 2 CO 2 MXene (0.81, 0.50, and 1.31 V) [ 57 ], Se@NiO/CC (0.32, 0.36, and 0.68 V) [ 58 ], SASe–Ti 3 C 2 (0.59, 0.29, and 0.88 V) [ 59 ], CuCo 2 S 4 (0.35, 0.30, and 0.65 V) [ 60 ], NiSA-Co 3 O 4 (1.09, 0.21, and 1.30 V) [ 12 ], CoS 2 (0.89, 0.47, and 1.36 V) [ 61 ], and other recently reported two-dimensional materials [ 45 , 62 , 63 ]. These suggest that the W 4 C 3 O 2 MXene shows excellent catalytic performance as a cathode catalyst for Li-O 2 batteries.…”

In Situ Construction of NiS-MoS2 Nanoheterostructure with Interfacial Electron Redistribution for Li-Oxygen Batteries

“…The energy and environmental challenges stemming from the rapid depletion of fossil resources has stimulated the continuous exploration of renewable and new energy technologies. − Li–O 2 batteries have garnered significant attention due to their considerable advantage in terms of high theoretical energy density, indicating substantial potential for addressing daily power supply needs. , Li–O 2 batteries is associated with the reversible lithium peroxide formation and decomposition concerning the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction process (ORR/OER). − Nevertheless, Li–O 2 batteries still face challenges such as poor magnification ability, insufficient reversible capacity, elevated charge and discharge overpotential, limited cycle life, and the generation of numerous reaction byproducts. − These issues seriously restricted the practical development of Li–O 2 batteries. , The main way to address these issues is to develop high-efficiency catalysts for the air cathode. In recent years, precious metals and their alloys have demonstrated outstanding electrocatalytic activity against oxygen reduction/evolution reaction, yet their high cost and scarcity have severely limited their commercial application. − …”