Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Lin, Shi‐Yi
• Xia, Li‐Xue
• Cao, Ying
• Meng, Hong‐Ling
• Zhang, Lu
• Feng, Jiu‐Ju
• Zhao, Yan
• Wang, Ai‐Jun

Titel

Electronic Regulation of ZnCo Dual‐Atomic Active Sites Entrapped in 1D@2D Hierarchical N‐Doped Carbon for Efficient Synergistic Catalysis of Oxygen Reduction in Zn–Air Battery

Ist Teil von

• Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 2022-04, Vol.18 (14), p.e2107141-n/a

Ort / Verlag

Germany: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2022

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Transition metal‐based nitrogen‐doped carbon (M‐Nx‐C) is considered as a promising catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in clean energy storage and conversion devices. Herein, ZnCo dual‐atomic sites are incorporated in hierarchical N‐doped carbon (HNC), with 1D nanotubes wrapped in 2D nanosheets structure (termed as 1D@2D ZnCo‐HNC), via a one‐step bio‐inspired pyrolysis. The feeding ratio of Zn to Co precursor and pyrolytic temperature are critically modulated to achieve well‐defined morphologies of the products, endowing them with the integrated merits of nanotubes and nanosheets as efficient ORR catalysts. Benefiting from the particular structure and electronic regulation of Zn on Co, the ZnCo‐Nx dual‐atomic system exhibits excellent ORR catalytic characteristics with an onset potential of 1.05 V and a half‐wave potential of 0.82 V. Density functional theory calculations further explain the regulating role of Zn, such that the adjusted Co in ZnCo‐Nx sites significantly reduces the energy cost to ultimately facilitate the ORR. Moreover, the Zn–air battery assembled with ZnCo‐HNC is capable of delivering the maximum power density of 123.7 mW cm−2 and robust stability for 110 h (330 cycles). This method provides a promising strategy for fabricating efficient transition metal‐based carbon catalysts for green energy devices. With the unique 1D@2D structure and abundant ZnCo dual‐atomic sites, bio‐inspired ZnCo‐HNC exhibits excellent catalytic performances for the oxygen reduction reaction and a home‐assembled Zn–air battery. Density functional theory calculations further demonstrate that Co is the main active center in the ZnCo‐Nx system, while Zn serves as the charge adjuster.