Lithium–Oxygen Batteries: Sustainable Redox Mediation for Lithium–Oxygen Batteries by a Composite Protective Layer on the Lithium‐Metal Anode (Adv. Mater. 5/2016)

As described on page 857, synergic combination of a soluble redox mediator and a protected lithium (Li) metal electrode is successfully demonstrated by J.-K- Park, H.-T. Kim, and co-workers by exploiting a redox mediator of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl 1-oxyl (TEMPO) and a composite protective layer (CPL). Self-discharge, resulting from extensive migration and chemical reduction of the oxidized TEMPO can be suppressed by a simple coating of a CPL on the Li metal surface. Building a selective barrier to redox mediators provides an impetus for sustainable redox mediation, resulting in robust cycling of lithium–oxygen batteries.