Influence of cathode process on the performance of lithium-air batteries

Abstract

Lithium-air batteries have attracted the widespread concern of electric vehicle industry and the relevant researchers because of the high energy density and environmental friendly characteristics. This article is dedicated to improve the performance of lithium-air batteries by optimizing the cathode preparation process. Therefore, three generally used methods of rolling, coating and spray have been employed, in the present work, to prepare the cathodes and the performance of the resulted lithium-air batteries have been comparatively investigated, analyzed and discussed. The results revealed that the spray method along with nickel foam as substrate is the best approach to prepare high performance cathode, judging from the discharge capacity, discharge voltage and high-rate discharge-ability. Furthermore, an intermediate pressing process is beneficial forimproving the performance of cathode from coating method. Copyright © 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC.