Novel Approaches for Synthesizing Self-Supporting Flexible Bifunctional Electrocatalysts with Hierarchical Structures and High Catalytic Activity for Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries
ORAL
Abstract
Developing efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical for advancing rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Recent advancements in electrostatic spinning technology have led to significant developments in polymer-zinc-air battery systems. This work presents two novel approaches for synthesizing self-supporting flexible bifunctional electrocatalysts with hierarchical structures and high catalytic activity by tailoring electrostatic spinning parameters. The first approach combines metal-organic frameworks with electrospinning technology to synthesize FeCoNi nanoparticles decorated N-doped carbon hierarchical networks. The FeCoNi nanoparticles are converted from Fe3+/Co2+/Ni2+ ions in the electrospun fibers and catalyze the pyrolysis of ZIF-67 on the fiber surface to generate reticulated carbon microfibers. The second approach harnesses the properties of organic salts in polymer solutions via electrospinning to synthesize FeCoNi flexible carbon nanofibers. These catalysts benefit from the secondary growth of FeCoNi- and N-doped carbon nanotubes on fiber surfaces, generating numerous metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) ORR active sites and FeCoNi alloy-based OER active sites. Both approaches produce bifunctional electrocatalysts with excellent ORR and OER activity, surpassing that of the existing Pt/C and RuO2 catalysts. Rechargeable zinc-air batteries constructed with these catalysts achieve high peak power density and exceptional cycling stability, making them promising candidates for next-generation energy storage devices.
*This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52002198, 21776147, 21905153, 61604086, 22378221, 22308183) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2021YQ32, ZR2023QB070). L. F. Dong also thanks financial support from the Malmstrom Endowed Fund at Hamline University.
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Publication:In-situ generation of metal nanoparticle decorated N-doped carbon secondary reticular structure on coaxial electrospinning fibers for oxygen electrocatalysis, Y. J. Chen, X. Y. Meng, C. J. Fan, G. L. Yu, X. B. Wang, Q. Zhang, B. L. Pang, L. Y. Yu, and L. F. Dong, Diamond and Related Materials, 137, 110095, 2023. Design and synthesis of self-supporting FeCoNi- and N-doped carbon fibers/nanotubes as oxygen bifunctional catalysts for solid-state flexible Zn-air batteries, X. Y. Meng, Y. Yuan, J. G. Feng, C. C. Ma, Y. Z. Sun, J. Zhang, B. L. Pang, Y. J. Chen, L. Y. Yu, and L. F. Dong, submitted.
