A Rotating Ring Disk Electrode Study of the Stability in Different Electrolytes for Lithium-Oxygen Batteries

Abstract

The electrolyte formula (especially, the composition of organic solvent) is well-known to influence the electrochemical performance of Li-O2 batteries. The electrolyte instability in the battery can be attributed to its reaction with the superoxide radical (O2 • −) produced at the battery’s cathode during discharge. In this work, we have employed the rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) technique to study the stability of various organic solvents against O2 • − by the quantification of the electrolyte decomposition rate constant (k) for the reaction between various electrolytes and O2 • −. Moreover, RRDE transients are also applied to estimate O2 solubility and diffusion rates of O2 and O2 • − coefficients ( and ) at different electrolytes.