Inorganic Battery Materials

Lithium Oxygen Battery

Raymond A. Wong and Hye Ryung Byon

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Republic of Korea

and

Morgan L. Thomas, Kaoru Dokko and Masayoshi Watanabe

Yokohama National University, Yokohama, Japan

1. 1 Introduction
2. 2 O₂ Redox in L⁺‐Containing Aprotic Solutions
3. 3 Main Challenges and Research Efforts to Improve Performance in L–O₂ Batteries
4. 4 Conclusion and Future Outlook, from O₂ to Air: Realizing L–Air Batteries
5. 5 Abbreviations and Acronyms
6. 6 References

1 Introduction

The current trend toward electrification (i.e., including hybrid electric vehicles (EVs), and drones) can be considered a paradigm shift. The improved understanding of intercalation chemistries initiated the development of LIBs since the 1970s, with commercialization occurring in 1991, driven in part by the downsizing of electronics. However, due to the urgency in supplanting fossil fuel technologies, there is a need for batteries with even higher energy densities in order to realize advanced EVs and to effectively harness energy from intermittent sources such as solar and wind. In effect, this has provided the impetus for research into “beyond LIB,” in the form of conversion–reaction type systems capable of multi‐electron transfer such as metal–air and metal–sulfur batteries.

Amongst these, the lithium–oxygen (Li–O₂) or lithium–air system is noteworthy for the exceptionally high theoretical specific energy density of ∼3460 Wh kg⁻¹ (up to six times that of LIBs, ...