Atomically Dispersed Iron-Nitrogen Species as Electrocatalysts for Bifunctional Oxygen Evolution and Reduction Reactions

Pengzuo Chen; Tianpei Zhou; Lili Xing; Kun Xu; Yun Tong; Hui Xie; Lidong Zhang; Wensheng Yan; Wangsheng Chu; Changzheng Wu; Yi Xie

doi:10.1002/anie.201610119

Atomically Dispersed Iron-Nitrogen Species as Electrocatalysts for Bifunctional Oxygen Evolution and Reduction Reactions

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Jan 9;56(2):610-614. doi: 10.1002/anie.201610119. Epub 2016 Dec 2.

Authors

Pengzuo Chen¹, Tianpei Zhou¹, Lili Xing², Kun Xu¹, Yun Tong¹, Hui Xie², Lidong Zhang², Wensheng Yan², Wangsheng Chu², Changzheng Wu¹, Yi Xie¹

Affiliations

¹ Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Science at the Microscale, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, P.R. China.
² National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, 230029, P.R. China.

PMID: 27910196
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201610119

Abstract

Rational design of non-noble materials as highly efficient, economical, and durable bifunctional catalysts for oxygen evolution and reduction reactions (OER/ORR) is currently a critical obstacle for rechargeable metal-air batteries. A new route involving S was developed to achieve atomic dispersion of Fe-N_x species on N and S co-decorated hierarchical carbon layers, resulting in single-atom bifunctional OER/ORR catalysts for the first time. The abundant atomically dispersed Fe-N_x species are highly catalytically active, the hierarchical structure offers more opportunities for active sites, and the electrical conductivity is greatly improved. The obtained electrocatalyst exhibits higher limiting current density and a more positive half-wave potential for ORR, as well as a lower overpotential for OER under alkaline conditions. Moreover, a rechargeable Zn-air battery device comprising this hybrid catalyst shows superior performance compared to Pt/C catalyst. This work will open a new avenue to design advanced bifunctional catalysts for reversible energy storage and conversion devices.

Keywords: Fe-Nx species; Zn-air batteries; bifunctional catalysts; dispersed atoms; heteroatom doping.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't