Brush-Like Cobalt Nitride Anchored Carbon Nanofiber Membrane: Current Collector-Catalyst Integrated Cathode for Long Cycle Li-O 2 Batteries

To achieve a high reversibility and long cycle life for lithium-oxygen (Li-O ) batteries, the irreversible formation of Li O , inevitable side reactions, and poor charge transport at the cathode interfaces should be overcome. Here, we report a rational design of air cathode using a cobalt nitride (Co N) functionalized carbon nanofiber (CNF) membrane as current collector-catalyst integrated air cathode. Brush-like Co N nanorods are uniformly anchored on conductive electrospun CNF papers via hydrothermal growth of Co(OH)F nanorods followed by nitridation step. Co N-decorated CNF (Co N/CNF) cathode exhibited excellent electrochemical performance with outstanding stability for over 177 cycles in Li-O cells. During cycling, metallic Co N nanorods provide sufficient accessible reaction sites as well as facile electron transport pathway throughout the continuously networked CNF. Furthermore, thin oxide layer (