Nanostructuring one-dimensional and amorphous lithium peroxide for high round-trip efficiency in lithium-oxygen batteries

The major challenge facing lithium–oxygen batteries is the insulating and bulk lithium peroxide discharge product, which causes sluggish decomposition and increasing overpotential during recharge. Here, we demonstrate an improved round-trip efficiency of ~80% by means of a mesoporous carbon electrode, which directs the growth of one-dimensional and amorphous lithium peroxide. Morphologically, the one-dimensional nanostructures with small volume and high surface show improved charge transport and promote delithiation (lithium ion dissolution) during recharge and thus plays a critical role in the facile decomposition of lithium peroxide. Thermodynamically, density functional calculations reveal that disordered geometric arrangements of the surface atoms in the amorphous structure lead to weaker binding of the key reaction intermediate lithium superoxide, yielding smaller oxygen reduction and evolution overpotentials compared to the crystalline surface. This study suggests a strategy to enhance the decomposition rate of lithium peroxide by exploiting the size and shape of one-dimensional nanostructured lithium peroxide.While lithium-oxygen batteries offer a green method to power vehicles, the sluggish decomposition of lithium peroxide limits device performance. Here, the authors direct lithium peroxide formation into amorphous nanostructures to enable its facile decomposition and improve charging efficiency.