Synergistic nanoarchitecture of mesoporous carbon and carbon nanotubes for lithium–oxygen batteries

A rechargeable lithium–oxygen battery (LOB) operates via the electrochemical formation and decomposition of solid-state Li(2)O(2) on the cathode. The rational design of the cathode nanoarchitectures is thus required to realize high-energy-density and long-cycling LOBs. Here, we propose a cathode nanoarchitecture for LOBs, which is composed of mesoporous carbon (MPC) integrated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The proposed design has the advantages of the two components. MPC provides sufficient active sites for the electrochemical reactions and free space for Li(2)O(2) storage, while CNT forests serve as conductive pathways for electron and offer additional reaction sites. Results show that the synergistic architecture of MPC and CNTs leads to improvements in the capacity (~ 18,400 mAh g(− 1)), rate capability, and cyclability (~ 200 cycles) of the CNT-integrated MPC cathode in comparison with MPC. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40580-021-00268-5.