Issue 5, 2023

Selenium heteroatom-doped mesoporous carbon as an efficient air-breathing electrode for rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries

Abstract

Intentionally heteroatom-doped mesoporous carbon was generated from spent disposable paper cups and explored as an air-breathing electrode for a rechargeable lithium–oxygen (Li–O2) battery. The crystal structures and morphologies of the respective boron, nitrogen and selenium-doped carbons were generated and were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics conducted on a rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) under Ar and O2 atmospheres in 0.1 M KOH revealed that the Se heteroatom-doped carbon (SeC900) electrocatalyst achieved inherently high catalytic activity as compared to the boron and nitrogen-doped carbon. The high surface area, effective O2 adsorption and enhanced active sites provided by the Se heteroatom lead to high ORR and OER catalytic activities for the SeC900 electrocatalyst. A CR2032 coin cell was fabricated to demonstrate the Li–O2 battery using the SeC900 electrocatalyst as an air-breathing electrode, which showed a stable open circuit voltage (OCV) of 3.14 V and a high discharge capacity of 1618 mA h g−1 at a current density of 50 Ag−1. Thus, a metal-free bifunctional air-cathode has been developed for the Li–O2 battery. The fabricated air coin cell was applied for practical implementation by lighting three series-connected commercial red LED bulbs continuously for about 5 h on a single charge.

Graphical abstract: Selenium heteroatom-doped mesoporous carbon as an efficient air-breathing electrode for rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Nov 2022
Accepted
20 Dec 2022
First published
21 Dec 2022

New J. Chem., 2023,47, 2189-2201

Selenium heteroatom-doped mesoporous carbon as an efficient air-breathing electrode for rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries

V. Sankar Devi and P. Elumalai, New J. Chem., 2023, 47, 2189 DOI: 10.1039/D2NJ05679H

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