| Abstract: | An air-cathode battery includes a porous cathode current collector with
an air interface, an ionic liquid electrolyte disposed in pores of the
porous cathode current collector; a metal anode, and a separator in
contact with the ionic liquid electrolyte and coupled between the porous
cathode current collector and the metal anode. The porous cathode current
collector is an ionogel formed from a silica sol-gel or a carbonized
resorcinol-formaldehyde aerogel and the pores are functionalized with a
thiol group-containing species that is functionalized with one or more
catalytic nanoparticles or the pores are electroplated with catalytic
metal. |