The practical application of the
lithium–oxygen battery
is still restricted by a cathode with a low specific capacity and
a poor cycle stability. In this work, we prepared ruthenium dioxide
nanoparticle (RuO2NP)-supported gelatin-derived porous
doped carbon (GPDC) catalysts with different contents of RuO2 by a facile and effective sol–gel and low-temperature heat
treatment. Benefiting from the large specific surface area and porous
structure, the RuO2/GPDC catalyst with 15 wt % RuO2 exhibits an excellent cathode performance with a high specific
capacity of 10751 mAh g–1 and a long-term cyclic
stability of 306 cycles at 100 mA g–1. The experimental
results demonstrate that the abundant channel structure provides enough
space for the storage of discharge products and the addition of RuO2NPs significantly improves the reversibility of the electrodes
with excellent OER activity. Furthermore, the existence of RuO2 NPs tunes the morphology and distribution of discharge products
to affect the discharge capacity. This work may provide a pathway
to resolving the existing problems of Li–O2 batteries.