Issue 16, 2024

Dual-carbon coupling modulated bimetallic sulfides as high-efficiency bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts in a rechargeable Zn–air battery

Abstract

The design and construction of high-efficiency carbon based non-precious metal electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR and OER) with sluggish kinetics are of great importance but remain a big challenge. In this work, a 3D hybrid of bimetallic (Co/Fe) sulfide nanoparticles anchored on nitrogen-doped graphene and CNTs (Co0.2Fe0.6Sx-Gra/CNT) is fabricated via a ball-milling assisted in situ pyrolysis process. Benefitting from the synergetic effects between the carbon matrix and metallic sulfides, the optimized Co0.2Fe0.6Sx-Gra/CNT hybrid exhibits a high half-wave voltage up to 0.822 V for the ORR and a low overpotential of 540 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for the OER, outperforming Co0.2Fe0.6Sx-Gra and even a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Meanwhile, a home-made Zn–air battery with the hybrid as a cathode catalyst delivers a maximum power density up to 366 mW cm−2, along with a long-term charge and discharge stability at 10 mA cm−2. The excellent performances of the hybrid toward the ORR and OER are mainly attributed to the plentiful electron transfer channels provided by the 3D intertwined carbon matrix and enriched active sites derived from a dual-carbon coupling enhancement effect, which induce a change in the electronic structure and increase in the electron cloud density of the bimetallic sulfides and nitrogen dopant configuration. This work proves the importance of a carbon support to enhance the catalytic performance of non-precious metal-based catalysts and provides possibility of metal sulfides as bifunctional catalysts for the ORR/OER in a rechargeable Zn–air battery.

Graphical abstract: Dual-carbon coupling modulated bimetallic sulfides as high-efficiency bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts in a rechargeable Zn–air battery

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
13 Jun 2024
Accepted
08 Jul 2024
First published
09 Jul 2024

Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2024,8, 3610-3616

Dual-carbon coupling modulated bimetallic sulfides as high-efficiency bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts in a rechargeable Zn–air battery

Y. Wang, J. Liu, J. Liu, Z. Wang, B. Zhuang, N. Xu, X. Cui and J. Qiao, Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2024, 8, 3610 DOI: 10.1039/D4SE00793J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements