Bulk preparation of free‐standing single‐iron‐atom catalysts directly as the air electrodes for high‐performance zinc‐air batteries
Hong‐Bo Zhang,
Yu Meng,
Hong Zhong,
Lili Zhang,
Shichao Ding,
Lingzhe Fang,
Tao Li,
Yi Mei,
Peng‐Xiang Hou,
Chang Liu,
Scott P. Beckman,
Yuehe Lin,
Hui‐Ming Cheng,
Jin‐Cheng Li
Affiliations
Hong‐Bo Zhang
Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering Kunming University of Science and Technology Kunming China
Yu Meng
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China
Hong Zhong
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Washington State University Pullman Washington USA
Lili Zhang
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China
Shichao Ding
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Washington State University Pullman Washington USA
Lingzhe Fang
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Northern Illinois University DeKalb Illinois USA
Tao Li
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry Northern Illinois University DeKalb Illinois USA
Yi Mei
Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering Kunming University of Science and Technology Kunming China
Peng‐Xiang Hou
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China
Chang Liu
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China
Scott P. Beckman
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Washington State University Pullman Washington USA
Yuehe Lin
School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Washington State University Pullman Washington USA
Hui‐Ming Cheng
Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Shenyang China
Jin‐Cheng Li
Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, Faculty of Chemical Engineering Kunming University of Science and Technology Kunming China
Abstract The keen interest in fuel cells and metal‐air batteries stimulates a great deal of research on the development of a cost‐efficient and high‐performance catalyst as an alternative to traditional Pt to boost the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the cathode. Herein, we report a facile and scalable strategy for the large‐scale preparation of a free‐standing and flexible porous atomically dispersed Fe–N‐doped carbon microtube (FeSAC/PCMT) sponge. Benefiting from its unique structure that greatly facilitates the catalytic kinetics, mass transport, and electron transfer, our FeSAC/PCMT electrode exhibits excellent performance with an ORR potential of 0.942 V at −3 mA cm−2. When the FeSAC/PCMT sponge was directly used as an oxygen electrode for liquid‐state and flexible solid‐state zinc‐air batteries, high peak power densities of 183.1 and 58.0 mW cm−2 were respectively achieved, better than its powdery counterpart and commercial Pt/C catalyst. Experimental and theoretical investigation results demonstrate that such ultrahigh ORR performance can be attributed to atomically dispersed Fe–N5 species in FeSAC/PCMT. This study presents a cost‐effective and scalable strategy for the fabrication of highly efficient and flexible oxygen electrodes, provides a significant new insight into the catalytic mechanisms, and helps to realize significant advances in energy devices.
