title: DMSO-Li2O2 Interface in the Rechargeable Li-O2 Battery Cathode: Theoretical and Experimental Perspectives on Stability.
abstract: One of the greatest obstacles for the realization of the nonaqueous Li-O2 battery is finding a solvent that is chemically and electrochemically stable under cell operating conditions. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an attractive candidate for rechargeable Li-O2 battery studies; however, there is still significant controversy regarding its stability on the Li-O2 cathode surface. We performed multiple experiments (in situ XPS, FTIR, Raman, and XRD) which assess the stability of the DMSO-Li2O2 interface and report perspectives on previously published studies. Our electrochemical experiments show long-term stable cycling of a DMSO-based operating Li-O2 cell with a platinum@carbon nanotube core-shell cathode fabricated via atomic layer deposition, specifically with >45 cycles of 40 h of discharge per cycle. This work is complemented by density functional theory calculations of DMSO degradation pathways on Li2O2. Both experimental and theoretical evidence strongly suggests that DMSO is chemically and electrochemically stable on the surface of Li2O2 under the reported operating conditions.
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Marshall A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: §Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, United States.|∥Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
authors.forename: Nitin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Pearse
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Chanyuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Sang Bok
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: †Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Rubloff
authors.affiliation: §Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185, United States.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: ‡Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
authors.forename: Malachi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noked
keywords: atomic layer deposition (ALD); density functional theory (DFT); dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO); lithium oxygen battery; lithium peroxide (Li2O2)