Facile Synthesis of Birnessite δ-MnO and Carbon Nanotube Composites as Effective Catalysts for Li-CO Batteries.

Li-CO batteries are one type of promising energy storage and conversion devices to capture and utilize the greenhouse gas CO, mitigating global temperature rise and climate change. Catalysts that could effectively decompose the discharge product, LiCO, are essential for high-performance Li-CO batteries. Benefiting from the interconnected porous structure, favorable oxygen vacancy, and the synergistic effects between the carbon nanotube (CNT) and layered birnessite δ-MnO, our Li-CO cathodes with the as-prepared CNT@δ-MnO catalyst can efficiently afford a large reaction surface area and abundant active sites, provide sufficient electron/Li transport pathways, and facilitate electrolyte infiltration and CO diffusion, demonstrating low overpotential and superior cycling stability, which have been proven by both experimental characterization and theoretical computation. It is expected that this work can provide guidance for the design and synthesis of high-performance electrochemical catalysts for Li-CO batteries.