Amorphous MnO₂ Coated 3D Ni Nanomesh as a Thin-film Hybrid Cathode Material under O₂ Atmosphere

In this study, we apply the economically feasible liquid ALD process to deposit a 2 nm amorphous MnO2 thin-film on our high surface-area 3D Ni nanomesh substrate, which shows a high surface to footprint area ratio (30 cm(2):1 cm(2) for 1 mu m thick Ni nanomesh), and demonstrate its preliminary electrochemical activity as a cathode under N-2 and O-2. The excellent footprint charge density and faradaic efficiency can be attributed to the catalytic oxygen reduction reaction, followed by Li-intercalation thus forming a hybrid combination of Li-ion and Li-O-2 activity, alleviating the detrimental deactivation process of pristine MnO2. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published on behalf of The Electrochemical Society by IOP Publishing Limited.