Lithium-oxygen batteries: High-energy, durable graphene-mesosponge cathodes redefine performance potential
12/23/2024
New graphene-based cathode design achieves impressive capacity, stability, and sustainability

Lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries promise both extremely high energy density and reduced reliance on finite materials such as Co and Ni used in conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIB). However, the practical application of these benefits still requires the development of durable, high-capacity Li-O2 cathodes.
“Traditional LIB cathode designs not only fail to promote adequate atmospheric oxygen flow but also rely on binder materials that degrade on contact with reactive oxide species” explains Wei Yu, a member of an AIMR research team. “These aspects lead to limited battery capacity and cycle life—hindering the practical application of Li-O2 batteries.”
In a recent article, Yu, Nishihara and co-workers fabricated a Li-O2 battery cathode material using free-standing graphene mesosponge (GMS)-sheets with a hierarchically porous, minimally stacked, and edgeless design1. This graphene-based approach eliminated the need for oxygen-vulnerable binders.
“Our design’s structural specificity aims to enhance performance by achieving three objectives: hierarchical porosity for better oxygen and Li-ion flow; reduced stacking to maximize specific reaction sites; and the elimination of weak graphene edges for improved stability,” says Yu.
Through a multi-step fabrication process that precisely controls pore sizes across multiple scales, the team demonstrated this cathode material can achieve over 6300 mAh/g mass capacity, 30 mAh/cm2 areal capacity, and 480 mAh/cm3 volumetric capacity, along with a stable cycle performance surpassing 260 cycles at moderate current densities.
A future direction will focus on the rational design of Li metal anode to further improve the cycling stability of Li-O2 batteries under extreme conditions.
(Author: Patrick Han)
References
- Yu W., Shen Z., Yoshii T., Iwamura S., Ono M., Matsuda S., Aoki M., Kondo T., Mukai S.R., Nakanishi S. and Nishihara H. Hierarchically porous and minimally stacked graphene cathodes for high-performance lithium–oxygen batteries Advanced Energy Materials 14, 2303055 (2024). | article
This research highlight has been approved by the authors of the original article and all information and data contained within has been provided by said authors.