Mathematical modeling of oxygen crossover in lithium-oxygen battery

Lithium-air battery attracted great attention because of their high energy density. Energy density of Lithium-oxygen batteries is more than ten times greater than energy density of lithium-ion battery that is currently used in electric vehicles. In spite of high energy density of lithium-oxygen batteries, there are several challenges that need to be overcome for developing of these batteries. Herein we investigate oxygen crossover in lithium-oxygen battery that is one of the main challenges in these batteries. We developed a mathematical model based on Newman porous electrode method to investigate effect of oxygen crossover on the cycling behavior of lithiumoxygen battery. Effect of diffusion coefficient and oxygen solubility on the performance of the battery are investigated. The results show that with decrease of diffusion coefficient and oxygen solubility on the electrolyte cycling performance of the battery is enhanced. But these two parameters have negative impact on full discharge of the battery. In other words, these two parameters decrease the specific capacity of the battery. Our study shows the importance of these two parameters in the performance of the battery. Furthermore, consideration of these two contract effect (enhancing in cycling and diminishing in full discharge) is greatly suggested.