Laser-assisted synthesis of FePc/N-doped carbon dots on Co₃O₄ flakes as an efficient cathode for lithium-oxygen batteries

The key to advancement of lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) is the exploration of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Hereby, we present a laser-assisted synthesis of iron phthalocyanine (FePc)/N-doped carbon dots loaded on Co₃O₄ flakes (FePc/N-CDs@Co₃O₄) as a bifunctional electrocatalyst that rivals noble metal-based catalysts in OER and ORR. The LOB using FePc/N-CDs@Co₃O₄ as the cathode shows a discharge capacity of 28619 mAh g⁻¹ and a good stability of 350 cycles at 1000 mAh g⁻¹. The current work not only provides a simple and versatile laser-assisted way to prepare metal oxide materials, but sheds light on the application of bifunctional catalysts as high-efficiency cathode materials in lithium-oxygen batteries. Graphical abstract: A bifunctional FePc/N-CDs@Co₃O₄ catalyst was conveniently synthesized with laser. The hybrid catalyst serves as an efficient cathode in the lithium-oxygen battery, which can be stably charged/discharged over 350 cycles at 1000 mAh g^-1. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]