High-performance and low-cost bifunctional catalysts are crucial to energy conversion and storage devices. Herein, a novel oxygen electrode catalyst with high oxygen evolution reaction and oxygen reduction reaction (OER/ORR) performance is reported based on bimetal FeNi nanoparticles anchored on N-doped graphene-like carbon (FeNi/N-C). The complete 2D ultrathin carbon nanosheet is induced by etching and stripping of molten sodium chloride and its ions in the carbonization process at suitable temperature. The obtained FeNi/N-C catalyst exhibits rapid reaction kinetics for OER, efficient four electron transfer for ORR, and outstanding bifunctional performance with reversible oxygen electrode index of 0.87 V for OER/ORR. Zn-air batteries with a high open-circuit voltage of 1.46 V and a stable discharge voltage of 1.23 V are assembled using liquid electrolytes, zinc sheet as Zn-electrode and FeNi/N-C coating on carbon cloth as air-electrode. The specific capacity is as high as 816 mAh g-1 and there is extremely little decay after charge-discharge cycle time of 275 h for the FeNi/N-C as oxygen electrode catalyst in Zn-air battery, which are much better than that assembled with Pt/C-RuO2 catalyst.
Keywords: Zn-air batteries; bifunctional catalysts; oxygen evolution reactions; oxygen reduction reaction; specific capacity.
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