High-Activity Fe3C as pH-Universal Electrocatalyst for Boosting Oxygen Reduction Reaction and Zinc-Air Battery

Transition metal catalysts are regarded as one of promising alternatives to replace traditional Pt-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work, an efficient ORR catalyst is synthesized by confining Fe3C nanoparticles into N, S co-doped porous carbon nanosheets (Fe3C/N,S-CNS) via high-temperature pyrolysis, in which 5-sulfosalicylic acid (SSA) demonstrates as an ideal complexing agent for iron (Iota Iota Iota) acetylacetonate while g-C3N4 behaves as a nitrogen source. The influence of the pyrolysis temperature on the ORR performance is strictly examined in the controlled experiments. The obtained catalyst exhibits excellent ORR performance (E-1/2 = 0.86 V; E-onset = 0.98 V) in alkaline electrolyte, coupled by exhibiting the superior catalytic activity and stability (E-1/2 = 0.83 V, E-onset = 0.95 V) to Pt/C in acidic media. In parallel, its ORR mechanism is carefully illustrated by the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, especially the role of the incorporated Fe3C played in the catalytic process. The catalyst-assembled Zn-air battery also exhibits a much higher power density (163 mW cm(-2)) and ultralong cyclic stability in the charge-discharge test for 750 h with a gap increase down to 20 mV. This study provides some constructive insights for preparation of advanced ORR catalysts in green energy conversion units correlated systems.

Automated summary

Fe3C nanoparticles are confined into N, S co-doped porous carbon nanosheets (Fe3C/N,S-CNS) via high-temperature pyrolysis, which exhibit excellent ORR performance in alkaline electrolyte and superior catalytic activity and stability in acidic media compared to Pt/C. The ORR mechanism of the catalyst is carefully illustrated by DFT calculations. The study provides constructive insights for the preparation of advanced ORR catalysts in green energy conversion systems.