Carbon Decorated Ni(OH)₂Nanoflakes on Ni Foam as a Binder-Free Cathode for Lithium-Oxygen Batteries

Herein, we report a binder-free, low-cost and high performance cathode for lithium-oxygen batteries based on carbon black BP2000 decorated Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes array on Ni foam. The Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes array is fabricated by hydrothermal treatment of Ni foam in acidic medium without nickel salt. The highly organized structure of Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes array provides a more uniform distribution of catalysts and discharge products, resulting in high capacity with a relatively stable cycling voltage profile. The cathode outputs a discharge capacity as high as 12400 mAh gcarbon-1 at 160 mA gcarbon-1, which is 244% higher than that of BP2000 decorated Ni foam electrode without Ni(OH)2 nanoflakes array. The cathode can sustain 100 cycles under a capacity limitation of 320 mAh gcarbon-1 with high energy efficiency (∼67%). Our work points out the key issues and suggests an effective method for the surface modification technology.