Gas transport evaluation in lithium-air batteries with micro/nano-structured cathodes

Inefficient gas transport in the porous cathode is disastrous for the lithium-air battery to achieve a high electrochemical performance. Previous evaluation of the cathode diffusivity relies on indirect calculations based on multiple V-I data obtained over the intact battery system, which inevitably induces evaluation uncertainty and material waste. In this report, an electrochemical device is designed for the out-of-cell diffusivity measurement in the lithium-air battery with micro/nano-sized cathodes. With the measured diffusivity, a few electrochemical parameters including the limiting current density and the concentration polarization associated with the porous cathodes can thus be directly evaluated. The work facilitates the development of highly-efficient cathode materials in the general field of metal-air battery field. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.