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Research Article

Atomic Fe-Zn dual-metal sites for high-efficiency pH-universal oxygen reduction catalysis

Jie Xu1,§, Shuhua Lai1,§, Defeng Qi1, Min Hu1, Xianyun Peng1, Yifan Liu2( ), Wei Liu1, Guangzhi Hu3, Heng Xu1, Fan Li1, Chao Li1, Jia He1( ), Longchao Zhuo4, Jiaqiang Sun5, Yuan Qiu1, Shusheng Zhang6, Jun Luo1, Xijun Liu1( )
Institute for New Energy Materials & Low-Carbon Technologies and Tianjin Key Lab of Photoelectric Materials & Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Institute for Ecological Research and Pollution Control of Plateau Lakes, School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming 650504, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an 710048, China
State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan 030001, China
College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450000, China
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Graphical Abstract

Abstract

An effective electrocatalyst being highly active in all pH range for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial for energy conversion and storage devices. However, most of the high-efficiency ORR catalysis was reported in alkaline conditions. Herein, we demonstrated the preparation of atomically dispersed Fe-Zn pairs anchored on porous N-doped carbon frameworks (Fe-Zn-SA/NC), which works efficiently as ORR catalyst in the whole pH range. It achieves high half-wave potentials of 0.78, 0.85 and 0.72 V in 0.1 M HClO4, 0.1 M KOH and 0.1 M phosphate buffer saline (PBS) solutions, respectively, as well as respectable stability. The performances are even comparable to Pt/C. Furthermore, when assembled into a Zn-air battery, the high power density of 167.2 mW·cm-2 and 120 h durability reveal the feasibility of Fe-Zn-SA/NC in real energy-related devices. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the superior catalytic activity of Fe-Zn-SA/NC can be contributed to the lower energy barriers of ORR at the Fe-Zn-N6 centers. This work demonstrates the potential of Fe-Zn pairs as alternatives to the Pt catalysts for efficient catalytic ORR and provides new insights of dual-atom catalysts for other energy conversion related catalytic reactions.

Keywords

oxygen reduction reactionelectrocatalysisFe-Zn atomic pairspH-universalZn-air battery

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Nano Research
Volume 14 Issue 5,
May 2021
Pages 1374-1381
DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-3186-x
Cite this article:
Xu J, Lai S, Qi D, et al. Atomic Fe-Zn dual-metal sites for high-efficiency pH-universal oxygen reduction catalysis. Nano Research, 2021, 14(5): 1374-1381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-3186-x
Topics:
Binary alloysCatalysis Catalyst activityChlorine compoundsDoping (additives)ElectrocatalystsElectrolytic reduction OxygenOxygen reduction reaction Potassium hydroxideVirtual storage
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Received: 21 August 2020
Revised: 12 October 2020
Accepted: 17 October 2020
Published: 09 November 2020
© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
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