Hierarchically Interconnected 3D Catalyst Structure of Porous Multi-Metal Oxide Nanofibers for High-Performance Li-O₂...

Non-aqueous lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) have emerged as a promising candidate due to their high theoretical energy density and eco-friendly cathode reaction materials. However, LOBs still suffer from high overpotential and poor cycling stability resulting from difficulties in the decomposition of discharge reaction Li₂O₂ products. Here, a 3D open network catalyst structure is proposed based on highly-thin and porous multi-metal oxide nanofibers (MMONFs) developed by a facile electrospinning approach coupled with a heat treatment process. The developed hierarchically interconnected 3D porous MMONFs catalyst structure with high specific surface area and porosity shows the enhanced electrochemical reaction kinetics associated with Li₂O₂ formation and decomposition on the cathode surface during the charge and discharge processes. The uniquely assembled cathode materials with MMONFs exhibit excellent electrochemical performance with energy efficiency of 82% at a current density of 50 mA g^-1 and a long-term cycling stability over 100 cycles at 200 mA g^-1 with a cut-off capacity of 500 mAh g^-1. Moreover, the optimized cathode materials exhibit a remarkable energy density of 1013 Wh kg^-1 at the 100th discharge and charge cycle, which is nearly four times higher than that of C/NMC721, which has the highest energy density among the cathode materials currently used in electric vehicles.