Lithiumoxygen batteries have attracted great attention over
the last few decades owing to their extraordinarily high
theoretical energy density, which can potentially exceed that of
current state-of-art lithium-ion batteries. However,
lithiumoxygen batteries exhibit poor cycle stability, relatively
low power capability and significantly large polarizations for
both, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR, discharge) and the
oxygen evolution reaction (OER, charge). To address these
issues, various catalysts for aqueous and non-aqueous
lithiumoxygen batteries have thus been introduced, and some
recent developments of bifunctional catalysts could simultaneously
facilitate the ORR and OER, leading to great advancements
in the overall battery performance. Herein, we present a
brief overview of recent progress in the development of
bifunctional catalysts for lithiumoxygen batteries based on the
current understanding of their working mechanism. Perovskitetype,
spinel-type, and non-oxide catalysts and their use in
aqueous lithiumoxygen batteries are reviewed. Recently
reported bifunctional catalysts in non-aqueous lithiumoxygen
batteries are also introduced, and the different roles of solidand
soluble-type catalysts are further discussed. Finally, we
conclude by deliberating the design prospects and perspectives
for efficient bifunctional catalysts for future lithiumoxygen
batteries. 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim