A new perspective of lanthanide metal–organic frameworks: tailoring Dy-BTC nanospheres for rechargeable Li–O2 batteries

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 12; no. 17; pp. 9524 - 9532
• Main Authors: Liu, Dan, Zhang, Xinmin, Yan-Jie, Wang, Song, Shuyan, Cui, Lifeng, Fan, Hongbo, Qiao, Xiaochang, Fang, Baizeng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 07.05.2020
• Subjects: Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Discharge; Dysprosium; Electrochemical analysis; Metal-organic frameworks; Morphology; Nanomaterials; Nanospheres; Rechargeable batteries
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/d0nr00866d

Nanoscaled lanthanide metal–organic frameworks (NLn-MOFs) have emerged as attractive nanomaterials for photofunctional applications. To enhance the inherent properties and endow NLn-MOF materials with desired electrochemical performance for rechargeable Li–O2 batteries, rational design and synthesis of NLn-MOFs with tailored morphologies for high O2 accessibility and rich open metal sites to bind O2 molecules is highly desired and remains a grand challenge. Herein, we prepare Dy-BTC nanospheres, which are explored for the first time as an O2 cathode in Li–O2 batteries. Interestingly, the specific capacity and electrochemical stability of the Dy-BTC nanosphere-based electrode outperform significantly those of the bulk crystalline Dy-BTC. A full discharge capacity of 7618 mA h g−1 at 50 mA g−1 has been achieved by the Dy-BTC nanospheres. Furthermore, the Dy-BTC nanospheres stably deliver a discharge capacity of 1000 mA h g−1 at 200 mA g−1 for 76 cycles, which is remarkably longer than that of the bulk crystalline Dy-BTC with a cycling life of 26 cycles.