Copper sulfide with flower-like (f-CuS) and carambola-like (c-CuS) morphologies was successfully synthesized by a facile one-step solvothermal route with different surfactants. When employed as cathode catalysts for lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs), f-CuS outperforms c-CuS in terms of oxygen electrochemistry, judging from the faster kinetics and the higher reversibility of oxygen reduction/oxidation reactions, as well as the better LOB performance. Moreover, an abnormal high-potential discharge plateau was observed in the discharge profile of the LOB. To understand the different performances of f-CuS and c-CuS and the abnormal high-potential plateau, theoretical calculations were conducted, based on which a mechanism was proposed and verified with experiments. On the whole, CuS can work as a multifunctional catalyst for promoting LOB performance, which means that the dissolved CuS in LiTFSI/TEGDME electrolyte can serve as a liquid catalyst by the redox couples of Cu(TFSI)₂/Cu(TFSI)₂^–/Cu(TFSI)₂^2–, in addition to the function as a traditional solid catalyst in the cathode.

中文翻译：

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用于非水可充电锂氧电池的多功能催化剂 CuS

具有花状 (f-CuS) 和杨桃状 (c-CuS) 形态的硫化铜通过简便的一步溶剂热路线与不同的表面活性剂成功合成。当用作锂氧电池 (LOB) 的阴极催化剂时，从氧还原/氧化反应的更快动力学和更高的可逆性以及更好的 LOB 性能来看，f-CuS 在氧电化学方面优于 c-CuS . 此外，在 LOB 的放电曲线中观察到异常的高电位放电平台。为了了解f-CuS和c-CuS的不同性能以及异常高电位平台，进行了理论计算，在此基础上提出了机理并通过实验进行了验证。总的来说，CuS 可以作为促进 LOB 性能的多功能催化剂，₂ /Cu(TFSI) ₂ ^– /Cu(TFSI) ₂ ^2–，除了作为阴极中传统固体催化剂的功能外。