Regulating the Density of State of Co3O4 Enables Electrocatalysts in Li–O2 Batteries

Abstract Regulating the electronic states of catalysts for enhancing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic activity is crucial yet challenging in lithium–oxygen (Li–O2) batteries. In this study, we synthesized Co3O4 as a model system to explore the correlation between the density of states (DOSs) of Co3O4 and OER catalytic activities in Li–O2 batteries. Compared to the original Co3O4, as well as the single-element doped P–Co3O4 and Pt–Co3O4, the Pt and P codoped Co3O4 (Pt/P–Co3O4) demonstrate enhanced DOSs across the entire range near the Fermi level due to the misaligned distribution of electronic states between Pt and P. The significant increase in the DOSs of Pt/P–Co3O4 results in a high donor energy level, which enhances the adsorption strength with intermediate states, thereby significantly reducing the charge activation energy and overpotentials. Establishing the relationship between the DOSs of the catalyst and the charging overpotential provides important guidance for designing high-performance cathode catalysts for Li–O2 batteries.