Nanoscale alloying effect of gold–platinum nanoparticles as cathode catalysts on the performance of a rechargeable lithium–oxygen battery

Abstract

The understanding of nanoscale alloying or the phase segregation effect of alloy nanoparticles on the catalytic properties is important for a rational design of the desired catalysts for a specific reaction. This paper describes findings of an investigation into this type of structural effect for carbon-supported bimetallic gold-platinum nanoparticles as cathode catalysts in a rechargeable lithium-oxygen battery. The nanoscale structural characteristics in terms of size, alloying and phase segregation were shown to affect the catalytic properties of the catalysts in the Li-O(2) battery. In addition to the composition effect, the catalysts with a fully alloyed phase structure were found to exhibit a smaller discharge-charge voltage difference and a higher discharge capacity than those with a partial phase segregation structure. This finding is significant for the design of alloy nanoparticles as air cathode catalysts in rechargeable lithium-air batteries, demonstrating the importance of the control of the nanoscale composition and phase properties.