Graphene-based, Pt-loaded RuO2 nanosheet as a durable and highly active bifunctional oxygen electrode

In this issue of Chem Catalysis , Wu et al. have designed a novel bifunctional catalyst that can be used as a Li-O-2 battery cathode. It delivers a low mid-capacity overpotential of 0.78 V for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at 500 mAh/g with over 200 cycles. This work provides inspiration for the design of bifunctional catalysts and elucidates the critical role of OER and ORR catalyst interaction in the performance of O-2 cathodes. The design philosophy is inspiring, but fully demonstrating its effectiveness will require further understanding of the performance improvement mechanism and further optimization of the catalytic performance.