The lithium-oxygen battery, of much interest because of its very high-energy density,
presents many challenges, one of which is a high-charge overpotential that results in large
inefficiencies. Here we report a cathode architecture based on nanoscale components that
results in a dramatic reduction in charge overpotential to~ 0.2 V. The cathode utilizes atomic
layer deposition of palladium nanoparticles on a carbon surface with an alumina coating for
passivation of carbon defect sites. The low charge potential is enabled by the combination .