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Vol. 17 (2025)

Photo-Energized MoS2/CNT Cathode for High-Performance Li–CO2 Batteries in a Wide-Temperature Range

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01506-1
Tingsong Hu
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Wenyi Lian
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Kang Hu
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Qiuju Li
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Xueliang Cui
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Tengyu Yao
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China
Laifa Shen
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Materials and Technologies for Energy Storage, College of Materials Science and Technology, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Laifa Shen

lfshen@nuaa.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 17 (2025), Article Number: 5

Abstract

Li–CO2 batteries are considered promising energy storage systems in extreme environments such as Mars; however, severe performance degradation will occur at a subzero temperature owning to the sluggish reaction kinetics. Herein, a photo-energized strategy adopting sustainable solar energy in wide working temperature range Li–CO2 battery was achieved with a binder-free MoS2/carbon nanotube (CNT) photo-electrode as cathode. The unique layered structure and excellent photoelectric properties of MoS2 facilitate the abundant generation and rapid transfer of photo-excited carriers, which accelerate the CO2 reduction and Li2CO3 decomposition upon illumination. The illuminated battery at room temperature exhibited high discharge voltage of 2.95 V and mitigated charge voltage of 3.27 V, attaining superior energy efficiency of 90.2% and excellent cycling stability of over 120 cycles. Even at an extremely low temperature of − 30 °C, the battery with same electrolyte can still deliver a small polarization of 0.45 V by the photoelectric and photothermal synergistic mechanism of MoS2/CNT cathode. This work demonstrates the promising potential of the photo-energized wide working temperature range Li–CO2 battery in addressing the obstacle of charge overpotential and energy efficiency.


Highlights:
1 The unique layered structure and excellent photoelectric properties of MoS2 facilitate the abundant generation and rapid transfer of photo-excited carriers, which accelerate the CO2 reduction and Li2CO3 decomposition upon illumination.
2 MoS2-based photo-energized Li–CO2 battery displays ultra-low charge voltage of 3.27 V, high energy efficiency of 90.2%, superior cycling stability after 120 cycles and high rate capability.
3 The low-temperature Li–CO2 battery achieves an ultra-low charge voltage of 3.4 V at –30 °C with a round-trip efficiency of 86.6%.

Keywords

Li–CO2 batteries Photo-energized Wide operation-temperature Kinetics MoS2
Hu, Tingsong, Wenyi Lian, Kang Hu, Qiuju Li, Xueliang Cui, Tengyu Yao, and Laifa Shen. 2024. “Photo-Energized MoS2/CNT Cathode for High-Performance Li–CO2 Batteries in a Wide-Temperature Range”. Nano-Micro Letters 17 (September):5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01506-1.
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