Lithium–oxygen batteries (LOBs) with extraordinarily high energy density are some of the most captivating energy storage devices. Designing an efficient catalyst system that can minimize the energy barriers and address the oxidant intermediate and side-product issues is the major challenge regarding LOBs. Herein, we have developed a new type of integrated cathode of Cu foam-supported hierarchical nanowires decorated with highly catalytic Au nanoparticles which achieves a good combination of a gas diffusion electrode and a catalyst electrode, contributing to the synchronous multiphase transport of ions, oxygen, and electrons as well as improving the cathode reaction kinetics effectively. Benefiting from such a unique hierarchical architecture, the integrated cathode delivered superior electrochemical performance, including a high discharge capacity of up to 11.5 mA h cm⁻² and a small overpotential of 0.49 V at 0.1 mA cm⁻², a favorable energy efficiency of 84.3% and exceptional cycling stability with nearly 1200 h at 0.1 mA cm⁻² under a fixed capacity of 0.25 mA h cm⁻². Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations further reveal the intrinsic direct catalytic ability to form/decompose Li₂O₂ during the ORR/OER process. As a consequence, this work provides an insightful investigation on the structural engineering of catalysts and holds great potential for advanced integrated cathode design for LOBs.

中文翻译：

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高性能锂氧电池泡沫铜正极多功能集成设计

具有极高能量密度的锂氧电池（LOB）是最有吸引力的储能设备之一。设计一种高效的催化剂系统，最大限度地减少能量势垒并解决氧化剂中间体和副产物问题是 LOB 的主要挑战。在此，我们开发了一种新型集成阴极，由泡沫铜支撑的分级纳米线装饰有高催化金纳米粒子，实现了气体扩散电极和催化剂电极的良好结合，有助于离子、氧气、和电子并有效改善阴极反应动力学。受益于这种独特的分层结构，集成阴极提供了卓越的电化学性能，包括高达11.5 mA h cm ^{-2的高放电容量和0.1 mA cm -2}下0.49 V的小过电势，以及84.3的良好能量效率。 ％和出色的循环稳定性，在0.1 mA cm ^-2的固定容量为0.25 mA h cm ^-2下，循环稳定性接近1200小时。此外，密度泛函理论（DFT）计算进一步揭示了ORR/OER过程中形成/分解Li ₂ O _{2 的}固有直接催化能力。因此，这项工作对催化剂的结构工程进行了深入的研究，并为 LOB 的先进集成阴极设计带来了巨大的潜力。