Doped reduced graphene oxide mounted with IrO₂ nanoparticles shows significantly enhanced performance as a cathode catalyst for Li-O₂ batteries

Highlights: • Co and N co-doped graphene mounted with IrO₂ nanoparticles was prepared. • The catalyst showed high capacity and good cycling stability in a Li-O₂ battery. • The mounting of IrO₂ significantly enhanced the OER performance of doped graphene. • The ORR activity apparently was improved by co-doping graphene with Co and N. - Abstract: In this work, a high-performance composite catalyst comprised of IrO₂ nanoparticles mounted on Co and N co-doped reduced graphene oxide (Co-N-rGO) is designed and successfully prepared for use in a Li-O₂ battery. A battery with this catalyst as the cathode demonstrates very high capacity retention ability and cycling stability: it delivered a high reversible capacity of 11,731 mAh g⁻¹ after five cycles at 200 mA g⁻¹, and after 200 cycles with limited capacity of 600 mAh g⁻¹, the battery's discharge terminal voltage remains over 2 V and its energy efficiency still above 65%. Doping with Co and N, along with mounting the IrO₂ nanoparticles, greatly enhances the catalyst's performance. We suggest that its outstanding performance is attributable to the high surface area of rGO, the enhanced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity arising from doping with Co and N, and the high dispersion and great promotion of IrO₂ nanoparticles.