Catalytic Behavior of Lithi

By Sharon, Daniel; Hirsberg, Daniel; Afri, Michal; Chesneau, Frederick; Lavi, Ronit; Frimer, Aryeh A.; Sun, Yang-Kook & Aurbach, Doron
Published in ACS Applied Materials \& Interfaces NULL 2015

Abstract

The development of a successful Li-o? battery depends to a large extent on the discovery of electrolyte solutions that remain chemically stable through the reduction and oxidation reactions that occur during cell operations. The influence of the electrolyte anions on the behavior of Li-o? cells was thought to be negligible. However, it has recently been suggested that specific anions can have a dramatic effect on the chemistry of a Li-o? cell. In the present paper, we describe how LiNO3 in polyether solvents can improve both oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions. In particular, the nitrate anion can enhance the ORR by enabling a mechanism that involves solubilized species like superoxide radicals, which allows for the formation of submicronic Li2o? particles. Such phenomena were also observed in Li-o? cells with high donor n

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