Hydroquinone Resin Induced Carbon Nanotubes on Ni Foam As Binder-Free Cathode for Li–O2 Batteries

In this work, hydroquinone resin was used to grow carbon nanotubes directly on Ni foam. The composites were obtained via a simple carbonization method, which avoids using the explosive gaseous carbon precursors that are usually applied in the chemical vapor deposition method. When evaluated as cathode for Li–O2 batteries, the binder-free structure showed enhanced ORR/OER activities, thus giving a high rate capability (12690 mAh g–1 at 200 mA g–1 and 3999 mAh g–1 at 2000 mA g–1) and outstanding long-term cycling stability (capacity limited 2000 mAh g–1, 110 cycles at 200 mA g–1). The excellent battery performance provides new insights into designing a low-cost and high-efficiency cathode for Li–O2 batteries.