FeCo alloy/N, S dual-doped carbon composite as a high-performance bifunctional catalyst in an advanced rechargeable zinc-air battery

The rational design and development of cost-effective, high-performance, and stable bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts are essential for rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Herein, a novel FeCo composite composed of alloy nanoparticles embedded in an N, S dual-doped carbon matrix (FeCo/NSC) was prepared via one-step carbonization of amphiphilic dodecanethiol-metal salts wrapped in carbon nitride (C3N4). The compact combination of dual metal-alloys and dual-doped carbon endowed the composite with the active sites for the ORR and OER, achieving efficient electrical transmission and highly efficient bifunctional catalytic performance. The obtained FeCo-1/NSC catalyst exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity with a half-wave potential of 0.82 V (vs. RHE) for the ORR and a low overpotential of 0.325 V at 10 mA cm(-2) for the OER. The liquid Zn-air battery with FeCo-1/NSC as an air electrode displayed excellent charge-discharge performance, high power density, and robust charge-discharge stability for 150 h compared to the 20% Pt/C + RuO2 counterpart. Furthermore, the FeCo-1/NSC-based flexible solid-state Zn-air battery exhibited a higher power density and good charge-discharge stability over 10 h of operation. Thus, a promising strategy for bifunctional electrocatalyst development as part of rechargeable and wearable Zn-air batteries was provided. (C) 2020 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The FeCo/NSC composite, prepared via one-step carbonization, exhibits excellent ORR and OER catalytic performance for zinc-air batteries, promising a potential strategy for bifunctional electrocatalyst development.