Highly oriented fluorinated carbon nanotube arrays for high specific capacity lithium primary battery

Abstract

The lithium fluorinated carbon (Li/CFx) primary battery is widely used in various fields due to its highest theoretical specific energy (2180 Wh kg−1). In this work, highly oriented carbon nanotube arrays (CNTAs) with as-tuned fluoridation levels were prepared, and the electrochemical performances of Li/CFx using fluorinated carbon nanotube arrays (FCNTAs) as cathode materials were tested. The battery based on FCNTA-500 as the cathode has the highest specific capacity of 794.85 mAh g−1 at a discharge rate of 0.1 C. In addition, the corresponding energy density is as high as 1754.79 Wh kg−1. The high discharge performance is due to the highly oriented FCNTA and good dispersibility. Such highly oriented arrays provide rich diffusion paths for lithium-ion (Li+) during the discharge process and form 3D conductive paths with good interleaving degrees, which is favorable for Li+ diffusion and electron transfer and reduces the polarization in the discharge process.