title: Why Do Lithium-Oxygen Batteries Fail: Parasitic Chemical Reactions and Their Synergistic Effect.
abstract: As an electrochemical energy-storage technology with the highest theoretical capacity, lithium-oxygen batteries face critical challenges in terms of poor stabilities and low charge/discharge round-trip efficiencies. It is generally recognized that these issues are connected to the parasitic chemical reactions at the anode, electrolyte, and cathode. While the detailed mechanisms of these reactions have been studied separately, the possible synergistic effects between these reactions remain poorly understood. To fill in the knowledge gap, this Minireview examines literature reports on the parasitic chemical reactions and finds the reactive oxygen species a key chemical mediator that participates in or facilitates nearly all parasitic chemical reactions. Given the ubiquitous presence of oxygen in all test cells, this finding is important. It offers new insights into how to stabilize various components of lithium-oxygen batteries for high-performance operations and how to eventually materialize the full potentials of this promising technology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Merkert Chemistry Center, 2609 Beacon St., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 02467, USA.
authors.forename: Xiahui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Merkert Chemistry Center, 2609 Beacon St., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 02467, USA.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Merkert Chemistry Center, 2609 Beacon St., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 02467, USA.
authors.forename: Qingmei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Merkert Chemistry Center, 2609 Beacon St., Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, 02467, USA. dunwei.wang@bc.edu.
authors.forename: Dunwei
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5581-8799
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: electrochemistry; energy storage; lithium-oxygen batteries; reactive oxygen species; synergistic effect