An Organic Catalyst for Li–O 2 Batteries: Dilithium Quinone‐1,4‐Dicarboxylate

Solid organic electrocatalysts have hardly been tested in Li–O 2 batteries. Here, a new solid organic electrocatalyst, dilithium quinone‐1,4‐dicarboxylate (Li 2 C 8 H 2 O 6 ) is presented, which is expected to overcome the shortcomings of inorganic catalysts. The function‐oriented synthesis is low cost and low polluting. The electrocatalytic performance is evaluated by following the degradation of Li 2 O 2 during the charge process in a Li–O 2 cell through in situ XRD and operando synchrotron radiation powder XRD (SR‐PXD) measurements. The results indicate that the electrocatalytic activity of Li 2 C 8 H 2 O 6 is similar to that of commercial Pt. The Li 2 O 2 decomposition in a cell with Li 2 C 8 H 2 O 6 catalyst follows a pseudo‐zero‐order reaction, virtually without any side reactions. These results provide an insight into the development of new organic catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in Li–O 2 batteries.