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The O2 dissociation and O atoms adsorption on free-standing germanene are studied by using first-principles calculations in this paper. Compared with the extremely active silicene in oxygen atmosphere, germanene is found to be less active due to an energy barrier for dissociation of about 0.57 eV. Moreover, the dissociated oxygen atom follows two opposite migration pathways on the germanene surface, which is quite different from the case of silicene. Furthermore, the migration and desorption of O atoms at room temperature are relatively difficult due to the strong Ge-O bonding, resulting in the formation of germanium oxides. Our results reveal the interplay between germanene and O2 and suggest the enhanced stability of germanene in oxygen atmosphere compared with silicene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Yoo and Zhou [ACS Nano 5, 3020-3026 (2011)] reported that graphene can be directly used as electrode for Li-air batteries, suggesting that graphene itself can be served as catalyst for O2 dissociation reaction. In this work, we show from density functional theory calculations that the O2 dissociation reaction energy barrier is substantially decreased on the graphene surface comparing to that of in vacuum. Furthermore, N-doping can further decrease the energy barrier from 2.39 eV (undoped case) to 1.20 eV. The O2 molecule physical adsorption, O atom chemical adsorption at the graphene, and N-doped graphene surfaces are also simulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]