Direct synthesis of carbon nanotubes on metallic foams as a cathode material with high mass load for lithium-air batteries

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized directly on metallic substrates by spray pyrolysis chemical vapor deposition. Cathodes containing CNTs with mass loads up to 25.9 mg cm-2 were investigated for Li-air batteries and exhibited a maximum specific discharge capacity of 3348 mA h g-1 for a carbon loading of 4.2 mg cm-2. These results demonstrate that carbon nanomaterials present electrocatalytic activity for the cathode reaction and can be deposited and used directly as cathode materials for developing energy storage devices with improved performances.