All-Solid-State Photo-Assisted Li-CO₂ Battery Working at an Ultra-Wide Operation Temperature

Abstract

At present, photoassisted Li–air batteries are considered to be an effective approach to overcome the sluggish reaction kinetics of the Li–air batteries. And, the organic liquid electrolyte is generally adopted by the current conventional photoassisted Li–air batteries. However, the superior catalytic activity of photoassisted cathode would in turn fasten the degradation of the organic liquid electrolyte, leading to limited battery cycling life. Herein, we tame the above limitation of the traditional liquid electrolyte system for Li-CO2 batteries by constructing a photoassisted all-solid-state Li-CO2 battery with an integrated bilayer Au@TiO2/Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3 (LAGP)/LAGP (ATLL) framework, which can essentially improve battery stability. Taking advantage of photoelectric and photothermal effects, the Au@TiO2/LAGP layer enables the acceleration of the slow kinetics of the carbon dioxide reduction reaction and evolution reaction processes. The LAGP layer could resolve the problem of liquid electrolyte decomposition under illumination. The integrated double-layer LAGP framework endows the direct transportation of heat and Li+ in the entire system. The photoassisted all-solid-state Li-CO2 battery achieves an ultralow polarization of 0.25 V with illumination, as well as a high round-trip efficiency of 92.4%. Even at an extremely low temperature of −73 °C, the battery can still deliver a small polarization of 0.6 V by converting solar energy into heat to achieve self-heating. This study is not limited to the Li–air batteries but can also be applied to other battery systems, constituting a significant step toward the practical application of all-solid-state photoassisted Li–air batteries.

Binuclear Cu complex catalysis enabling Li–CO2 battery with a high discharge voltage above 3.0 V

“…The thermodynamic equilibrium potential and specific energy are calculated to be about 2.80 V and 1876 Wh kg −1 , respectively. The high theoretical specific energy far exceeds that of commercial Li-ion batteries, making it a potentially disruptive technology for energy storage 18 – 20 . …”

Light‐Assisted Metal–Air Batteries: Progress, Challenges, and Perspectives

“…Photoelectrons from Ag nanoplates based on the localized surface plasmon resonance can be injected into the oxygen vacancies of Bi 2 MoO 6 and promote the ORR kinetics. Similarly, the effects of Au nanoparticles in a Li–CO 2 battery also have been confirmed [89] …”

“…Similarly, the effects of Au nanoparticles in a Li-CO 2 battery also have been confirmed. [89] Besides metal-based nanoparticles, carbon materials also showed potential as photothermal cathodes. Based on a multiscale conjugated block-copolymer-CNT-polyurethane foam as an air electrode, a multisensing smart rechargeable Zn-air battery was proposed.…”

Porous Carbon Coated on Cadmium Sulfide-Decorated Zinc Oxide Nanorod Photocathodes for Photo-accelerated Zinc Ion Capacitors

“…Until now, photo-induced promotion has been widely used in various electrochemical energy storage devices, including Li− O 2 batteries, 8 Li−S batteries, 9 Li-ion batteries, 10 and Li−CO 2 battery. 11 Although Li-based materials dominate the market of electric energy storage devices (batteries and electrochemical capacitors), the high cost of lithium and the safety concerns relating to the metal may prohibit its use for certain applications. Therefore, where cost efficiency is a priority, alternative energy storage systems need to be explored to fulfill these requirements.…”

“…Moreover, this “2 in 1” concept increases the gravimetric energy storage performance and avoids the loss of energy transfer between discrete modules. Until now, photo-induced promotion has been widely used in various electrochemical energy storage devices, including Li–O 2 batteries, Li–S batteries, Li-ion batteries, and Li–CO 2 battery . Although Li-based materials dominate the market of electric energy storage devices (batteries and electrochemical capacitors), the high cost of lithium and the safety concerns relating to the metal may prohibit its use for certain applications.…”