Identifying the impact of Fe nanoparticles encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbon to Fe single atom sites for boosting oxygen reduction reaction toward Zn-air batteries

[Display omitted] •A highly efficient Fe SAs/NPs@NC catalyst for boosting the ORR is developed.•A synergistic effect stemming from the isolated Fe-Nx and metallic Fe is uncovered.•The catalyst showed high ORR activity and stability superior to the commercial Pt/C.•The Zn-air battery exhibits high po...

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Published in:Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Switzerland : 1996), 2023-01, Vol.456, p.140858, Article 140858
Main Authors: Niu, Wen-Jun, Yan, Ying-Yun, Li, Ru-Ji, Zhao, Wei-Wei, Chen, Jiang-Lei, Liu, Ming-Jin, Gu, Bingni, Liu, Wen-Wu, Chueh, Yu-Lun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electrocatalysts
Fe nanoparticles
Fe single atoms
Oxygen reduction reaction
Zn-air batteries
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Summary:[Display omitted] •A highly efficient Fe SAs/NPs@NC catalyst for boosting the ORR is developed.•A synergistic effect stemming from the isolated Fe-Nx and metallic Fe is uncovered.•The catalyst showed high ORR activity and stability superior to the commercial Pt/C.•The Zn-air battery exhibits high power density and excellent cycling stability. Herein, a proof-of-concept study on the evaluation of Fe nanoparticles (Fe NPs) encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbon to Fe single atoms (Fe SAs) for boosting the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity toward Zn-air batteries was reported. Specifically, unlike Fe SAs encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbon (Fe SAs@NC), the Fe SAs and Fe NPs co-embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon (Fe SAs/NPs@NC) derived from a pyrolysis and acid dissolution protocols exhibits excellent ORR performance with good stability and remarkable methanol tolerance in alkaline solutions. Combining a series of experimental analyses, the strong interaction between the atomically dispersed Fe-Nx and adjacent Fe NPs in altering the electronic structure of isolated Fe-Nx sites could weaken the binding energies of the ORR intermediates on Fe SAs/NPs@NC, resulting in an enhanced electrocatalytic kinetics than Fe SAs@NC and Pt/C catalysts. This strategy not only offers a new way for synthesis highly efficient Fe-N/C catalysts toward ORR, but also provides the new insights into the understanding of the mechanism of adjacent Fe NPs encapsulated by nitrogen-doped carbon to Fe SAs sites.
ISSN:1385-8947
1873-3212
DOI:10.1016/j.cej.2022.140858