Rational Fabrication of Defect-Rich and Hierarchically Porous Fe-N-C Nanosheets as Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for Zinc-Air Battery

Sensen Li; Yan Lv; Sawida Elam; Xiuli Zhang; Zhuojun Yang; Xueyan Wu; Jixi Guo

doi:10.3390/molecules28072879

Molecules (Mar 2023)

Rational Fabrication of Defect-Rich and Hierarchically Porous Fe-N-C Nanosheets as Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for Zinc-Air Battery

Sensen Li,
Yan Lv,
Sawida Elam,
Xiuli Zhang,
Zhuojun Yang,
Xueyan Wu,
Jixi Guo

Affiliations

Sensen Li: State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Yan Lv: State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Sawida Elam: State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Xiuli Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Zhuojun Yang: State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Xueyan Wu: State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Jixi Guo: State Key Laboratory of Chemistry and Utilization of Carbon Based Energy Resources, College of Chemistry, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28072879
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 28, no. 7
p. 2879

Abstract

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The rational design of morphology and structure for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts still remains a critical challenge. Herein, we successfully construct defect-rich and hierarchically porous Fe-N-C nanosheets (Fe-N-CNSs), by taking advantage of metal-organic complexation and a mesoporous template. Benefiting from the advantages of high density of active sites, fast mass transfer channels, and sufficient reaction area, the optimal Fe-N-CNSs demonstrate satisfactory ORR activity with an excellent half-wave potential of up to 0.87 V, desirable durability, and robust methanol tolerance. Noteworthy, the Fe-N-CNSs based zinc–air battery shows significant performance with a peak power density of 128.20 mW cm−2 and open circuit voltage of 1.53 V, which reveals that the Fe-N-CNSs catalysts present promising practical application prospects. Therefore, we believe that this research will provide guidance for the optimization of Fe-N-C materials.

Published in Molecules

ISSN: 1420-3049 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules

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