Influence of Nonaqueous Solvents on the Electrochemistry of Oxygen in the Rechargeable Lithium−Air Battery

A fundamental study of the influence of solvents on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in nonaqueous electrolytes has been carried out for elucidating the mechanism of the oxygen electrode processes in the rechargeable Li−air battery. Using either tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate (TBAPF6) or lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) electrolyte solutions in four different solvents, namely, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile (MeCN), dimethoxyethane (DME), and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME), possessing a range of donor numbers (DN), we have determined that the solvent and the supporting electrolyte cations in the solution act in concert to influence the nature of reduction products and their…