Turn “Waste” Into Wealth: MoO <sub>2</sub> @coal Gangue Electrocatalyst with Amorphous/Crystalline Heterostructure for Efficient Li–O <sub>2</sub> Batteries
Zhihui Sun, Yingjie Hu, Kai Zeng, Meng Li, Shuai Zhao, Jixiong Zhang
Abstract
Abstract 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 MoO 2 @coal gangue with amorphous/crystalline heterostructure derived from mine solid waste, which acts as an efficient cathode for Li–O 2 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 MoO 2 and stable SiO 2 , unique amorphous/crystalline heterostructure and the modified interfacial adsorption of LiO 2 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–O 2 batteries.