Screening for Superoxide Reactivity in Li-O₂ Batteries: Effect on Li₂O₂/LiOH Crystallization

Abstract

Unraveling the fundamentals of Li-O₂ battery chemistry is crucial to develop practical cells with energy densities that could approach their high theoretical values. We report here a straightforward chemical approach that probes the outcome of the superoxide O₂^–, thought to initiate the electrochemical processes in the cell. We show that this serves as a good measure of electrolyte and binder stability. Superoxide readily dehydrofluorinates polyvinylidene to give byproducts that react with catalysts to produce LiOH. The Li₂O₂ product morphology is a function of these factors and can affect Li-O₂ cell performance. This methodology is widely applicable as a probe of other potential cell components