Chunwen Sun
Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Title: Recent progress in bifuctional catalysts for rechargeable Li-air batteries
Biography
Biography: Chunwen Sun
Abstract
Among various metal/air batteries, lithium-air batteries possess the highest theoretical gravimetric energy density. However, for the rechargeable Li-air battery, besides the challenges of cost, another issue that has to be addressed in the current technology is the limitations of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) during discharging process and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during charging process. The sluggish kinetics of the ORR and OER in Li-air batteries is ascribed to the low efficiency of catalysts. Therefore, the design of a low-cost and stable bifunctional electrocatalyst is a major challenge to the construction of efficient Li-air batteries. Several nanocomposite bifunctional catalysts with low cost have been developed in our lab and studied for lithium-air battery applications. They show enhanced catalytic activity and better long-term durability than the commercial Pt/C catalyst.