Engineering the Electronic Interaction between Atomically Dispersed Fe and RuO 2 Attaining High Catalytic Activity and Durability Catalyst for Li-O 2 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 RuO 2 nanoparticles are designed to be loaded on hierarchical porous carbon shells (Fe SA -RuO 2 /HPCS) based on EMSI criterion. It is revealed that the Ru-O-Fe 1 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-Fe 1 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 O 2 and LiO 2 ; while during the OER process, the Ru-O-Fe 1 structure not only greatly enhances the reaction kinetics of OER, but also catalyzes the efficient decomposition of the discharge products Li 2 O 2 by the favorable electron transfer between the active sites and the discharge products. Hence, LOBs based on FeSA-RuO 2 /HPCS cathodes show an ultra-low over-potential, high discharge capacity and superior durability.