Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) are conducive to full exposure of catalyst sites, which can be used to synthesize highly efficient electrocatalysts. However, the design of stable and efficient GNRs catalysts remains...

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.