Construction of Co/FeCo@Fe(Co)3O4 heterojunction rich in oxygen vacancies derived from metal-organic frameworks using O2 plasma as a high-performance bifunctional catalyst for rechargeable zinc-air batteries

Yi Xiong; Zhongqing Jiang; Longxiang Gong; Xiaoning Tian; Changsheng Song; Thandavarayan Maiyalagan; Zhong-Jie Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.040

Construction of Co/FeCo@Fe(Co)₃O₄ heterojunction rich in oxygen vacancies derived from metal-organic frameworks using O₂ plasma as a high-performance bifunctional catalyst for rechargeable zinc-air batteries

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Nov:649:36-48. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.040. Epub 2023 Jun 14.

Authors

Yi Xiong¹, Zhongqing Jiang², Longxiang Gong¹, Xiaoning Tian³, Changsheng Song⁴, Thandavarayan Maiyalagan⁵, Zhong-Jie Jiang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation of Zhejiang Province, Department of Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China; Department of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315211, PR China.
² Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation of Zhejiang Province, Department of Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China. Electronic address: zhongqingjiang@zstu.edu.cn.
³ Department of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Ningbo University of Technology, Ningbo 315211, PR China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Optical Field Manipulation of Zhejiang Province, Department of Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, PR China. Electronic address: cssong@zstu.edu.cn.
⁵ Electrochemical Energy Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur, 603203, India.
⁶ Guangdong Engineering and Technology Research Center for Surface Chemistry of Energy Materials & Guangzhou Key Laboratory for Surface Chemistry of Energy Materials, New Energy Research Institute, College of Environment and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, PR China. Electronic address: eszjiang@scut.edu.cn.

PMID: 37331108
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.06.040

Abstract

Developing high-efficient, good-durability, and low-cost bifunctional non-precious metal catalysts for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is urgent and significant for promoting the practical rechargeable zinc-air batteries (RZABs). Herein, N-doped carbon coated Co/FeCo@Fe(Co)₃O₄ heterojunction rich in oxygen vacancies derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is successfully constructed by O₂ plasma treatment. The phase transition of Co/FeCo to FeCo oxide (Fe₃O₄/Co₃O₄) mainly occurs on the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) during the O₂ plasma treatment, which can form rich oxygen vacancies simultaneously. The fabricated catalyst P-Co₃Fe₁/NC-700-10 with optimal O₂ plasma treatment time of 10 min can reduce the potential gap between the OER and ORR to 760 mV, which is much lower than commercial 20% Pt/C + RuO₂ (910 mV). Density functional theory (DFT) calculation indicates that the synergistic coupling between Co/FeCo alloy NPs and FeCo oxide layer can promote the ORR/OER performance. Both liquid electrolyte RZAB and flexible all-solid-state RZAB using P-Co₃Fe₁/NC-700-10 as the air-cathode catalyst display high power density, specific capacity and excellent stability. This work provides an effective idea for the development of high performance bifunctional electrocatalyst and the application of RZABs.

Keywords: Bifunctional catalyst; Co/FeCo@Fe(Co)(3)O(4) heterojunction; Oxygen plasma; Oxygen vacancies; Rechargeable zinc-air battery.