Ordered Bimetallic Pt-Based Intermetallic Catalysts Enable Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Zinc–Air Batteries

Abstract

The advancement of low-cost Pt-based intermetallic catalysts is of substantial importance for the effective implementation of high-efficiency zinc–air batteries (ZABs). However, designing efficient catalysts that exhibit both high catalytic activity and stability presents significant challenges. To overcome this issue, we have designed a hybrid catalyst comprising ordered PtM (M = Fe, Co, and Ni) intermetallic nanoparticles uniformly anchored to atomically dispersed M-N-C substrates by integrating a freezing microchemical displacement method with a high-temperature anchoring-reduction strategy. The Pt-NC layer formed during synthesis inhibits Pt nanoparticle migration and aggregation during annealing, which represents a key advantage over traditional methods that often require thick protective coatings. X-ray absorption fine structure analysis reveals that Pt–N bonds form between the nanoparticles and M-N-C support, building strong metal-support interactions through electron transfer and thus significantly enhancing structural stability. Furthermore, theoretical calculations reveal that the structurally ordered PtM intermetallics induce strong electron effects and optimize the d-band center of Pt. The synergistic effects of the ordered PtM electronic structure and its interaction with the M-N-C substrates result in significantly enhanced ORR activity for PtCo@CoNC. This catalyst achieves a mass activity of 1.23 mA/µg_Pt and a specific activity of 1.14 mA/cm²_Pt, outperforming the commercial Pt/C catalyst, which shows values of 0.16 mA/µg_Pt and 0.22 mA/cm²_Pt. When utilized in ZABs, the PtCo@CoNC demonstrates superior performance, yielding a higher open-circuit voltage (1.486 V) and peak power density (179.47 mW cm⁻²) compared to Pt/C-based devices, highlighting the practical advantages of the ordered PtM@MNC design.

Keywords

coordination environment / electron transfer / oxygen reduction reaction / Pt-based intermetallics / zinc-air batteries

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2026 The Author(s). Carbon Neutralization published by Wenzhou University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.