Nanoporous Ru as a Carbon‐ and Binder‐Free Cathode for Li–O2 Batteries

Abstract

Porous carbon‐free cathodes are critical to achieve a high discharge capacity and efficient cycling for rechargeable Li–O₂ battery. Herein, we present a very simple method to directly grow nanoporous Ru (composed of polycrystalline particles of ∼5 nm) on one side of a current collector of Ni foam via a galvanic replacement reaction. The resulting Ru@Ni can be employed as a carbon‐ and binder‐free cathode for Li–O₂ batteries and delivers a specific capacity of 3720 mAh g_Ru⁻¹ at a current density of 200 mA g_Ru⁻¹. 100 cycles of continuous discharge and charge are obtained at a very narrow terminal voltage window of 2.75∼3.75 V with a limited capacity of 1000 mAh g_Ru⁻¹. The good performance of the nanoporous Ru@Ni cathode can be mainly attributed to the effective suppression of the by‐products related to carbon or binder, the good adhesion of the catalyst to the current collector, and the good permeation of O₂ and electrolyte into the active sites of the nanoporous Ru with the open pore system. This new type electrode provides a snapshot toward developing high‐performance carbon‐ and binder‐free Li–O₂ batteries.