Highly efficient and active Co–N–C catalysts for oxygen reduction and Zn–air batteries

Abstract

In this study, the Lewis doping approach of polyaniline (PANI) was employed to fabricate cobait–nitrogen–carbon (Co–N–C) oxygen electrocatalysts for Zn–air batteries, aiming to enhance the active spots of Co–N–C. This resulting Co–N–C catalysts exhibited well-defined nanofiber networks, and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis confirmed their substantial specific surface area. Electrochemical experiments demonstrated that the Co–N–C catalysts achieved the half-wave potential (vs. RHE) of 0.85 V in alkaline medium, overcoming Pt/C and iron–nitrogen–carbon (Fe–N–C) counterparts in extended cycle testing with only a 25 mV change in a half-wave potential after 5000 cycles. Remarkably, the highest power density measured in the zinc (Zn)-air battery reached 227 mW/cm², a significant improvement over the performance of 101 mW/cm² of the platinum on activated carbon (Pt/C) catalyst. These findings highlight the advantageous stability enhancement associated with the utilization of Co in the Co–N–C catalysts.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) / oxygen evolution reaction (OER) / non-noble metal catalysts / Co–N–C catalysts / Zn–air battery

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22279054).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-024-0928-6 and is accessible for authorized users.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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