Spinel MnCo2O4 nanospheres as an effective cathode electrocatalyst for rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries

Abstract

The air cathode is vital for lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) to achieve high performance, which will facilitate the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during the discharge and charge processes. In this paper, MnCo₂O₄ nanospheres prepared through the hydroxide co-precipitation method are investigated as an effective electrocatalyst for the ORR and OER in non-aqueous LOBs. The results show that a non-aqueous LOB with the electrocatalyst exhibits an excellent discharge capacity of 8518 mA h g_cathode⁻¹ with a narrow voltage gap of 0.85 V between the discharge and charge plateaus at a current density 100 mA g_cathode⁻¹, and can deliver cycling stability over 20 cycles. This study shows that MnCo₂O₄ nanospheres can be a promising cathode electrocatalyst in rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries due to its enhanced catalytic activity towards the ORR and OER.