Abstract:The titanium nitride nanoparticles were prepared by DC arc-discharge method and served as the cathode catalyst for lithium-oxygen batteries. Various analytical methods, including X-ray diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy and etc., are used to characterize the microstructure and morphology of the TiN nanoparticles. The results show that the TiN nanoparticles had a cubic structure with good crystallinity. Its grain size varied from 30 to 60 nm. The rotating disk electrode (RDE) test shows that the TiN nanoparticles had dual catalytic properties of both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). As the cathode catalyst for the lithium-oxygen batteries, the TiN electrode delivered 3 037 mAh/g discharge specific capacity at a current density of 50 mA/g. The energy efficiency of the battery could maintain in 62% at a limited capacity of 500 mAh/g and a current density of 75 mA/g. Furthermore, XRD and SEM results of the cycled TiN electrode show that the main reaction of lithium-oxygen batteries was the formation and decomposition of lithium peroxide.

DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1001-9731.2019.03.001