A non-carbon cathode electrode for lithium–oxygen batteries

Highlights: • A non-carbon cathode for lithium–oxygen batteries is proposed. • The new electrode is prepared by depositing MnO₂ on stainless steel felts. • This electrode renders a high capacity and good cycle stability. - Abstract: Carbon materials have been widely used to form cathodes for non-aqueous lithium–oxygen batteries. A critical problem with the use of carbon in this type of battery, however, is corrosion. To address this issue, we propose and fabricate a non-carbon cathode electrode consisting of MnO₂-deposited stainless steel (SS) felts. Amorphous MnO₂ layer are electrodeposited on the surfaces of SS fibers at an anodic current in a manganese acetate solution. The use of the MnO₂–SS electrode in a non-aqueous lithium–oxygen battery delivers a specific capacity of 1780mAhg_MnO2^-1. Furthermore, the discharge/charge cycle test with a fixed capacity of 500mAhg_MnO2^-1 shows that this electrode can discharge/charge for more than 10 cycles without degradation. It is, therefore, expected that this novel non-carbon and stable cathode is a promising electrode for high-performance lithium–oxygen batteries