Engineering the Electronic Interaction between Atomically Dispersed Fe and RuO₂ Attaining High Catalytic Activity and Durability Catalyst for Li-O₂ Battery

It is significant to develop catalysts with high catalytic activity and durability to improve the electrochemical performances of lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs). While electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI) between metal atoms and support has shown great potential in catalytic field. Hence, to effectively improve the electrochemical performance of LOBs, atomically dispersed Fe modified RuO₂ nanoparticles are designed to be loaded on hierarchical porous carbon shells (Fe_SA -RuO₂ /HPCS) based on EMSI criterion. It is revealed that the Ru-O-Fe₁ structure is formed between the atomically dispersed Fe atoms and the surrounding Ru sites through electron interaction, and this structure could act as the ultra-high activity driving force center of oxygen reduction/evolution reaction (ORR/OER). Specifically, the Ru-O-Fe₁ structure enhances the reaction kinetics of ORR to a certain extent, and optimizes the morphology of discharge products by reducing the adsorption energy of catalyst for O₂ and LiO₂ ; while during the OER process, the Ru-O-Fe₁ structure not only greatly enhances the reaction kinetics of OER, but also catalyzes the efficient decomposition of the discharge products Li₂ O₂ by the favorable electron transfer between the active sites and the discharge products. Hence, LOBs based on FeSA-RuO₂ /HPCS cathodes show an ultra-low over-potential, high discharge capacity and superior durability.