Construction of Co₃O₄@NiMoO₄ core-shell structure for high-current density photo-assisted lithium-oxygen battery

Lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) are regarded as the most potential energy storage systems for the next generation due to their exceptionally high theoretical energy density. However, the discharge product (Li₂O₂) results in significant overpotentials during charging and discharging, which severely limits the application of LOBs. In this work, Co₃O₄@NiMoO₄ core–shell structures were prepared by a secondary hydrothermal method and used as a photo-assisted LOB cathode. The core–shell structure not only enhances light absorption and conductivity, facilitating the separation of photoelectrons and holes, but also provides additional reaction sites for the OER and ORR. It has a low charging/discharging overpotential of 1.01 V and can operate stably for 164 cycles (at the current density of 1.0 mA cm⁻² and the capacity of 0.5 mAh cm⁻²) with good multiplicative performance with illumination. This paper is an effective and valuable reference for the subsequent development of cathode catalysts for photo-assisted LOBs.