One of the recent challenges in Li–O₂ battery technology is the cycle life, which can be severely shortened by cathode passivation induced by discharge product accumulation; this can be eliminated by reducing the amount of discharge products. Herein, we report a feasibility study on the development of a Ga–Sn liquid metal (LM)-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) cathode. In a comparison of MWNT, LM, m-LM/MWNT (pre-mixed LM and MWNTs), and LM/MWNT (LM-modified MWNTs) cathodes, morphology analysis showed that small Li₂O₂ flakes rather than large crystals grow on the conductive Ga–Sn LM and MWNTs of the LM/MWNT cathode only. The decomposition of the flaky Li₂O₂ on the LM/MWNT cathode occurred at lower charge overpotentials, resulting in low polarization; thus, the cathode passivation and the consumption of the Li anode were both alleviated during the cyclic process. The LM/MWNT cathode significantly improved the cycle life, rate performance, and ultimate capacity of Li–O₂ batteries.

Li-O ₂电池技术的最新挑战之一是循环寿命，而放电产物积聚引起的阴极钝化会严重缩短循环寿命。这可以通过减少排放物的数量来消除。在此，我们报告了开发Ga-Sn液态金属（LM）功能化的多壁碳纳米管（MWNTs）阴极的可行性研究。在比较MWNT，LM，m-LM / MWNT（预混合的LM和MWNTs）和LM / MWNT（LM改性的MWNTs）阴极时，形态分析表明，在其上长有小的Li ₂ O ₂薄片而不是大晶体仅LM / MWNT阴极的导电Ga-Sn LM和MWNT。片状Li ₂ O ₂的分解LM / MWNT阴极上的电荷发生在较低的电荷超电势上，从而导致低极化。因此，在循环过程中，阴极钝化和锂阳极的消耗均得到缓解。LM / MWNT阴极极大地改善了Li–O ₂电池的循环寿命，倍率性能和极限容量。