Boosting Li–O2 Battery Performance via Coupling of P–N Site‐Rich N, P Co‐Doped Graphene‐Like Carbon Nanosheets with Nano‐CePO4

Abstract

AbstractDevelopment of efficient and robust cathode catalysts is critical for the commercialization of Li‐O2 batteries (LOBs). Herein, a well‐designed CePO4@N‐P‐CNSs cathode catalyst for LOBs via coupling P‐N site‐rich N, P co‐doped graphene‐like carbon nanosheets (N‐P‐CNSs) with nano‐CePO4 via a novel “in situ derivation” coupling strategy by in situ transforming the P atoms of P‐C sites in N‐P‐CNSs to CePO4 is reported. The CePO4@N‐P‐CNSs exhibit superior bifunctional ORR/OER activity relative to commercial Pt/C‐RuO2 with an overall overpotential of 0.64 V (vs RHE). Moreover, the LOB with CePO4@N‐P‐CNSs as the cathode catalyst delivers a low charge overpotential of 0.67 V (vs Li/Li+), high discharge capacity of 29774 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and long cycling stability of 415 cycles, respectively. The remarkably enhanced LOB performance is attributable to the in situ derived CePO4 nanoparticles and the P‐N sites in N‐P‐CNSs, which facilitate increased bifunctional ORR/OER activity, promote the rapid and effective decomposition of Li2O2 and inhibit the formation of Li2CO3. This work may provide new inspiration for designing efficient, durable, and cost‐effective cathode catalysts for LOBs.