Homologous heterostructure of MoS2 and MoO2 coupled with carbon layers as cathode catalyst for rechargeable lithium–oxygen batteries

Lithium–oxygen batteries tend to experience high overpotentials because of the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction during cycling. A potential solution to address this issue is to develop an advanced cathode to accelerate the reaction kinetics during the electrochemical process. In the present work, an efficient electrocatalyst based on a homologous heterostructure combining MoO 2 and MoS 2 with robust carbon layers into a sphere structure was synthesized to facilitate charge transfer for reaction intermediates, resulting in exceptional performance in lithium–oxygen batteries. Further investigation into the formation and decomposition of Li 2 O 2 provides evidence of the reversibility of lithium–oxygen battery with the heterostructred cathode. This configuration provides a sound approach to integrate different functional catalysts into a homologous heterostructure to perfect the performance of lithium–oxygen batteries. Graphical abstract