@article{Liu2025, 
author = {Yifei Liu and Zumin Wang and Lingbo Zong and Lei Wang},
title = {Mesopore carbon spheres anchored atomic Fe catalysis enables high performance oxygen reduction and ultralong-life rechargeable Zn-air batteries},
year = {2025},
journal = {Nano Research},
volume = {18},
number = {11},
pages = {94907886},
keywords = {oxygen reduction reaction, single atom catalysts, Zn-air batteries, high temperature shock, geometric distortion},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/NR.2025.94907886},
doi = {10.26599/NR.2025.94907886},
abstract = {Single atom catalysts (SACs) featuring Fe-N4 active sites anchored on carbon supports exhibit exceptional electrocatalytic performance in oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). Herein, a rigid ligand confined strategy was used to synthesize edge-anchored Fe-N4 active sites with geometric distortion on mesoporous-dominated carbon spheres (Fe-N-MESs). Furthermore, in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) demonstrates that Fe-N-MESs weaken the O–O band, inhibiting the formation of H2O2. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the exceptional ORR activity stems from optimized oxygen intermediate adsorption free energy and reduced OH* desorption energy barrier. Electrochemical measurements verify the remarkable ORR activity of Fe-N-MESs, demonstrating a half-wave potential of 0.90 V and excellent stability, with approximately 94% of the initial current density after 50 h of operation. When used as the air cathode in aqueous Zn-air batteries, Fe-N-MESs display a large open circuit voltage of 1.53 V and an extra-long stability of 1500 h. Moreover, Fe-N-MESs exhibit a remarkable open circuit voltage of 1.50 V and an impressive peak power density up to 260.4 mW·cm−2 in quasi-solid-state Zn-air batteries. This work provides valuable insights into the boosted ORR origin, while offering a novel and economical synthesis technique for SACs applicable to other electrocatalytic reactions.}
}