Synthesis of RuO2/MnO2/Carbon Catalysts for Rechargeable Lithium-Air Battery

초록

Lithium air battery has been considered as a future energy storage device because of its high theoretical specific energy density. However, there are several barriers to achieve commercialization. One of them is lithium oxides produced during discharge, which degrades catalyst activity. It is very important to develop not only catalyst but also support which can accommodate these discharge productions [1, 2]. In this study, RuO2/MnO2/Carbon was synthesized on various carbon supports by hydrothermal methods and reflux. To characterize synthesized catalyst, different kinds of analysis equipments are used. Crystallinity was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were utilized to examine surface morphology. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET) was used for the determination of surface area and pore size distribution. Charge-discharge was performed with Swagelok-type cell in oxygen atmosphere. Among catalysts tested, RuO2/MnO2/Carbon catalyst with graphite nanofiber showed best cyclability probably due to high porosity.