Ni3Fe/Ni3Fe(OOH)x dynamically coupled on wood-derived nitrogen doped carbon as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable zinc-air batteries

Advances in rechargeable zinc-air batteries are hindered by the lack of efficient and economical oxygen electrocatalysts. Herein, a monolithic bifunctional catalyst is rationally constructed via an in situ growth of a FeNi3 alloy on nitrogen-doped wood-derived carbon (FeNi3@NWC). FeNi3 alloy nanoparticles coupled with nitrogen-doped carbon expedite the catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by promoting proton generation on FeNi3 and transfer to nitrogen-doped carbon. The actual formation of Ni1-xFexOOH on the surface of the FeNi3 alloy effectively accelerates oxygen evolution reaction (OER) via the charge transfer with outstanding activity. The potential gap of only 0.68 V between ORR and OER of FeNi3@NWC is achieved. The liquid zinc-air batteries (ZABs) with FeNi3@NWC convey a robust lifetime of similar to 266 h (800 cycles) with stable charging and discharging. Theoretical calculations manifest that the construction of double active sites through a synergistic mechanism between the FeNi3 alloy and catalytically active carbon ignites the prominent catalytic activity with superior stability. This work provides remarkable inspiration for the rational design of biomass-derived efficient electrocatalysts and will facilitate the practical application of energy storage and conversion devices.

Automated summary

In this study, a monolithic bifunctional catalyst, FeNi3@NWC, is constructed by in situ growth of FeNi3 alloy on nitrogen-doped wood-derived carbon. The FeNi3 alloy nanoparticles coupled with nitrogen-doped carbon accelerate the catalytic activity towards oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by promoting proton generation on FeNi3 and transfer to nitrogen-doped carbon. The formation of Ni1-xFexOOH on the surface of FeNi3 alloy effectively accelerates oxygen evolution reaction (OER) through charge transfer. The construction of double active sites through a synergistic mechanism between FeNi3 and catalytically active carbon ignites prominent catalytic activity with superior stability. This work provides remarkable inspiration for the rational design of biomass-derived efficient electrocatalysts and facilitates the practical application of energy storage and conversion devices.