An urchin-like Ni3ZnC0.7-carbon nanotube-porous carbon composite derived from metal-organic gel as a cathode material for rechargeable Li-O2 batteries

An urchin-like Ni3ZnC0.7-carbon nanotube-porous carbon composite was synthesized, for the first time, by one-step direct thermolysis of a metal-organic gel in a conventional horizontal tube furnace without using any additional carrier gas or catalyst. The urchin-like particles of the obtained composite with a particle size of similar to 2 mu m exhibit a sphere-like core, and CNTs grow outward from the core. And the Ni3ZnC0.7 nanoparticles are embedded in the composite, including at the end of the nanotubes. When used as the cathode material of Li-O-2 batteries, the composite exhibits excellent electrochemical performances, delivering a good cycle performance and having a discharge capacity of similar to 7390 mA h g(carbon+catalyst)(-1) at 0.1 mA cm(-2).