Boosting Li-O 2 Battery Performance via Coupling of P-N Site-Rich N, P Co-Doped Graphene-Like Carbon Nanosheets with Nano-CePO 4

Development of efficient and robust cathode catalysts is critical for the commercialization of Li-O batteries (LOBs). Herein, a well-designed CePO @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-CePO via a novel "in situ derivation" coupling strategy by in situ transforming the P atoms of P-C sites in N-P-CNSs to CePO is reported. The CePO @N-P-CNSs exhibit superior bifunctional ORR/OER activity relative to commercial Pt/C-RuO with an overall overpotential of 0.64 V (vs RHE). Moreover, the LOB with CePO @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 at 100 mA g and long cycling stability of 415 cycles, respectively. The remarkably enhanced LOB performance is attributable to the in situ derived CePO nanoparticles and the P-N sites in N-P-CNSs, which facilitate increased bifunctional ORR/OER activity, promote the rapid and effective decomposition of Li O and inhibit the formation of Li CO . This work may provide new inspiration for designing efficient, durable, and cost-effective cathode catalysts for LOBs.