ß-FeOOH nanorod bundles with highly enhanced round-trip efficiency and extremely low overpotential for lithium-air batteries.

ß-FeOOH nanorod (NR) catalysts prepared by ultrasonic-irradiated chemical synthesis enabled lithium-air cells to have high round-trip efficiency and extremely low overpotential as well as an outstanding rate capability. Good catalytic activities of the ß-FeOOH NR bundle could be ascribed to its crystal structure, which consists of 2 × 2 tunnels formed by edge- and corner-sharing Fe(O,OH)6 octahedra as well as to its one-dimensional morphology, which makes the configured electrode highly porous, indicating that the -OOH-based catalyst can be a good substitute for oxide-base catalysts in lithium-air batteries. The ultrasonic-irradiated chemical synthesis suggested here may be a good solution to optimize the morphology of catalyst materials for maximum catalytic activity.

α-MnO2 nanowire catalysts with ultra-high capacity and extremely low overpotential in lithium-air batteries through tailored surface arrangement.

We here report on very high capacity (11,000 mA h g(-1)), superb rate capability (4500 mA h g(-1) at 5000 mA g(-1)) and high reversibility of Li-air batteries using α-MnO2 NW catalysts mainly associated with their relatively large amount of Mn(3+) exposed on the NW surface and a unique mechanism for deposition of discharge products. Our findings of the unprecedentedly fast Li ion transport and reversible formation-decomposition of discharge products attributed to the modified surface arrangement of α-MnO2 NWs suggest a strategy for achieving high-power Li-air batteries in combination with nano-architecture tailoring.