Electrochemical effects of silicon/diamond-like carbon layered composite on oxygen cathodes in lithium-oxygen batteries

Sung Man Cho, Jun Kyu Lee, Woo Young Yoon

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    3 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Lithium-oxygen batteries are one of the most promising energy storage systems because of their high energy density. However, lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) and lithium carboxylates (HCO2Li, CH3CO2Li) are formed on cycling, which results in high charging over-potential and limited cycle life. In this study, a silicon/diamond-like carbon (Si-DLC) coating film was deposited onto an O2 electrode uniformly by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to improve the electrochemical properties of lithium-oxygen batteries. The coated layer prevented the direct contact of carbon with both the Li2O2 and the electrolyte, resulting in suppression of side-reaction product formation. For this reason, the coated cell showed better cycle life and round-trip efficiency than the pristine cell. When the charge was terminated, the potentials of the coated cell were 4.15 V for both the 1st and 5th cycles, whereas those of a pristine cell were 4.34 V for the 1st cycle and 4.51 V for the 5th cycle at a current density of 100 mA g-1 with a limited duration of 10 h for a single charge and discharge cycle. The coated cell was able to stably reach 50 cycles, whereas the pristine cell only lasted 7 cycles.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)246-252
    Number of pages7
    JournalElectrochimica Acta
    Volume158
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015 Mar 10

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This study was supported by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Korean Government (MEST) ( 2011-0028757 ). The microstructure of the samples was observed by TEM, with equipment located at the Korea Basic Science Institute Seoul Center. The Si–DLC was coated on the electrode by PECVD at Dongwoo Surface Tech Co., Ltd.

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

    Keywords

    • Chemical stability lithium carbonate
    • Deposition
    • Lithium-oxygen battery
    • Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor
    • Silicon/diamond-like carbon thin film

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemical Engineering
    • Electrochemistry

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