Mo3P catalyst keeps lithium-air battery at 100% performance after 1200 cycles
Lithium Grid News: According to foreign media reports, American scientists use molybdenum phosphide (Mo3P) as a catalyst for charge and discharge reactions, proving that lithium-air batteries can have better energy and stable performance. Lithium-oxygen batteries or lithium-air batteries are one of many ways to improve today's energy storage technology. In the research process, lithium and other metal-air batteries are favored because of their high energy density potential, but low efficiency and short cycle life have proven to be thorny issues in developing this technology. The use of a catalyst to accelerate the reaction on the electrode is seen as a way to improve performance. However, finding a material that can accelerate the charge and discharge mechanism at the same time is another challenge. Many effective catalysts reported in the past rely on expensive materials such as platinum and gold.
The research team led by the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) stated: “Design a highly active catalyst to minimize the energy barrier (excess input energy) to form and decompose lithium peroxide on the positive electrode ( Li2O2) nanoparticles are the key challenge in the development of this technology.' The IIT research team set out to design such a catalyst. In previous studies, Mo3P has shown promise as a catalyst for similar reactions, so start with evaluating its performance in lithium-air batteries. The team custom designed and manufactured a three-electrode battery, followed by a complete lithium-air battery.
In the case of using Mo3P catalyst, the battery discharge and charge overpotentials are 80mV and 270mV, respectively, which are relatively low in the currently reported lithium-air batteries. Moreover, after 1200 cycles of the battery, almost 100% of the initial performance can be maintained. Detailed performance analysis shows that during the cycle, a stable layer of lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) will be formed around the negative electrode, which can prevent other unnecessary reactions with air and components in the electrolyte. A layer of molybdenum oxide (MoO) is also formed on the catalyst to further improve battery performance.
However, after 1,000 cycles, the battery began to lose performance, which the team attributed to the deactivation of the charge redox mediator. Researchers believe that after further research, Mo3P catalysts will have good application prospects in energy storage. They said: 'Our lithium-air battery has unique electronic and structural characteristics. The surface reconstruction Mo3P catalyst developed this time has a kinetic stable oxidation coating, which has important application prospects in the development of sustainable energy storage systems.'Share to: