MESOPOROUS CO3O4 WITH DIFFERENT POROSITIES AS CATALYSTS FOR THE LITHIUM–OXYGEN CELL

Abstract Mesoporous cobalt oxides (Co 3 O 4 ) with different porosities were employed as the electrochemical catalysts of lithium–oxygen batteries. The mesoporous Co 3 O 4 demonstrated significantly improved round-trip efficiency and specific capacity over the bulk catalyst. Moreover, electrochemical measurement results suggest that the highly open and continuous three-dimensional cubic mesoporous structural features of the catalyst are imperative for its much higher catalytic reactivity than the two-dimensional hexagonal mesoporous Co 3 O 4 . A capacity close to 2250 mA h g − 1 carbon and a round-trip efficiency of 81.42% were obtained for the mesoporous Co 3 O 4 -KIT-6-40 catalyzed air electrode. It is suggested that the mesoporous metal oxide could be a promising catalyst of air electrode for the high performance lithium–oxygen battery.