Improved lithium-O2 battery performance enabled by catalysts of yolk-shell Fe3O4@C mixed with Pt-Ru nanoparticles

[Display omitted] •Yolk-shell Fe3O4@C-PtRu is prepared by hydrothermal reaction and wet-chemical reduction.•The Fe3O4@C-PtRu exhibit good electrochemical performance for lithium-O2 batteries.•The enhanced performance is ascribed to the catalysts and unique structure. An ideal cathode in lithium-O2 batteries (LOBs) should possess effective catalysts to promote a complete reversibility between oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions. We herein report catalysts of yolk-shell Fe3O4@C mixed with PtRu nanoparticles (Fe3O4@C-PtRu) for LOBs. This catalyst used in LOB cathodes can deliver good electrochemical performance. A large reversible capacity of 7996 mAh g−1 cycled at 200 mA g−1 and the restricting capacities of 1000 and 500 mAh g−1 cycled for 21 and 32 cycles at 200 mA g−1 can be achieved, respectively. It is suggested that the improved electrochemical performance should be derived from the effect of catalysts of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and PtRu nanoparticles coupled with hollow spherical structure from carbon shell. This work reveals that the Fe3O4@C-PtRu composite is a potential cathode catalyst for LOBs.