Enzyme-Inspired Room-Temperature Lithium-Oxygen Chemistry via Reversible Cleavage and Formation of Dioxygen Bonds

Li-O₂ batteries are promising energy storage systems due to their ultra-high theoretical capacity. However, most Li-O₂ batteries are based on the reduction/oxidation of Li₂ O₂ and involve highly reactive superoxide and peroxide species that would cause serious degradation of cathodes, especially carbon-based materials. It is important to explore lithium-oxygen reactions and find new Li-O₂ chemistry which can restrict or even avoid the negative influence of superoxide/peroxide species. Here, inspired by enzyme-catalyzed oxygen reduction/oxidation reactions, we introduce a copper(I) complex 3 N-Cu^I (3 N=1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane) to Li-O₂ batteries and successfully modulate the reaction pathway to a moderate one on reversible cleavage/formation of O-O bonds. This work demonstrates that the reaction pathways of Li-O₂ batteries could be modulated by introducing an appropriate soluble catalyst, which is another powerful choice to construct better Li-O₂ batteries.