Binder-free nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes electrodes for lithium-oxygen batteries

Here the binder-free nickel foam supported nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs@Ni) are synthesized by a floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition (FCCVD) method. Without any additional treatment, it could be employed as the air electrode in the lithium-oxygen batteries and delivers 1814 mAh g(-1) (normalized to the weight of the air electrode) at the current density of 0.05 mA cm(-2). The loose packing 3-dimension network structure facilitates the O-2 diffusion in the inner electrode and provides enough void volume for the products deposition during discharge process. The improved contact between N-CNTs and the current collector Ni is beneficial to suppress the volume expansion and leads to less polarization as well as good cycling performance. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.