Nitrogen, Fluorine, and Boron Ternary Doped Carbon Fibers as Cathode Electrocatalysts for Zinc-Air Batteries

Zinc-air batteries with high-density energy are promising energy storage devices for the next generation of energy storage technologies. However, the battery performance is highly dependent on the efficiency of oxygen electrocatalyst in the air electrode. Herein, the N, F, and B ternary doped carbon fibers (TD-CFs) are prepared and exhibited higher catalytic properties via the efficient 4e(-) transfer mechanism for oxygen reduction in comparison with the single nitrogen doped CFs. More importantly, the primary and rechargeable Zn-air batteries using TD-CFs as air-cathode catalysts are constructed. When compared to batteries with Pt/C + RuO2 and Vulcan XC-72 carbon black catalysts, the TD-CFs catalyzed batteries exhibit remarkable battery reversibility and stability over long charging/discharging cycles.