Turn “Waste” Into Wealth: MoO2@coal Gangue Electrocatalyst with Amorphous/Crystalline Heterostructure for Efficient Li–O2 Batteries

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 19; no. 27
• Main Authors: Sun, Zhihui, Hu, Yingjie, Zeng, Kai, Li, Meng, Zhao, Shuai, Zhang, Jixiong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 05.07.2023
• Subjects: amorphous/crystalline heterostructures; bifunctional electrocatalysts; Catalysts; Coal mining; Density functional theory; Electrocatalysts; Electrochemical analysis; electronic structure regulation; Gangue; Heterostructures; Li–O 2 batteries; mining solid waste; Nanotechnology; Silicon dioxide; Solid wastes
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202208145

Unreasonable accumulation of coal gangue in mining area has become the major source of global pollution. Probing the high‐valued utilization of coal gangue has become a key approach to address the problem. Herein, a promising catalyst of MoO2@coal gangue with amorphous/crystalline heterostructure derived from mine solid waste, which acts as an efficient cathode for Li–O2 batteries is first reported. Impressively, the as‐prepared catalyst exhibits a favorable initial discharge capacity of 9748 mAh g−1 and promising long‐term cyclic stability over 2200 h. Experimental results coupled with density functional theory (DFT) analysis reveal that the synergistic interaction between high‐activity MoO2 and stable SiO2, unique amorphous/crystalline heterostructure and the modified interfacial adsorption of LiO2 intermediate are critical factors in promoting the electrochemical performance. This work provides a new insight to design marked electrocatalysts by mine solid waste for Li–O2 batteries. MoO2@coal gangue with amorphous/crystalline heterostructure is first fabricated and applied as a promising electrocatalyst in Li–O2 battery. The synergistic interaction between N‐doping MoO2 and SiO2, amorphous/crystalline heterostructure and the optimized interfacial adsorption of LiO2 intermediate are critical factors in promoting the thermodynamics and kinetics of MoO2@Coal gangue. This work demonstrates a new surface‐modified synthesis strategy to prepare high‐quality coal gangue.