title: Screening for superoxide reactivity in Li-O2 batteries: effect on Li2O2/LiOH crystallization.
abstract: Unraveling the fundamentals of Li-O(2) battery chemistry is crucial to develop practical cells with energy densities that could approach their high theoretical values. We report here a straightforward chemical approach that probes the outcome of the superoxide O(2)(-), thought to initiate the electrochemical processes in the cell. We show that this serves as a good measure of electrolyte and binder stability. Superoxide readily dehydrofluorinates polyvinylidene to give byproducts that react with catalysts to produce LiOH. The Li(2)O(2) product morphology is a function of these factors and can affect Li-O(2) cell performance. This methodology is widely applicable as a probe of other potential cell components.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Si Hyoung
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: Jin-Hyon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Taeeun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yim
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Linda F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Nazar