Ni dispersed ultrathin carbon nanosheets as bi-functional oxygen electrocatalyst induced from graphite-like porous supramolecule

Shunfa Zhou; Guoli Zheng; Feng Ji; Jiatang Wang; Zhao Liu; Jiawei Shi; Jing Li; Yang Hu; Chengwei Deng; Liyuan Fan; Weiwei Cai

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.182

Ni dispersed ultrathin carbon nanosheets as bi-functional oxygen electrocatalyst induced from graphite-like porous supramolecule

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Dec 15;652(Pt B):1578-1587. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.182. Epub 2023 Aug 30.

Authors

Shunfa Zhou¹, Guoli Zheng², Feng Ji³, Jiatang Wang¹, Zhao Liu¹, Jiawei Shi¹, Jing Li⁴, Yang Hu⁵, Chengwei Deng⁶, Liyuan Fan⁷, Weiwei Cai⁸

Affiliations

¹ Hydrogen Energy Technology Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
² Department Key Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission & Ministry of Education, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Space Power-Sources Technology, Shanghai Institute of Space Power Sources, Shanghai 200245, China.
⁴ Hydrogen Energy Technology Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China. Electronic address: kinijing1984@gmail.com.
⁵ Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Fysikvej, Building 310, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Space Power-Sources Technology, Shanghai Institute of Space Power Sources, Shanghai 200245, China. Electronic address: dengchengwei@spacechina.com.
⁷ College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, 1 James Cook Drive, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia.
⁸ Hydrogen Energy Technology Innovation Center of Hubei Province, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China. Electronic address: willcai1985@gmail.com.

PMID: 37666190
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.08.182

Abstract

Excellent porosity and accessibility are key requirements during carbon-based materials design for energy conversion applications. Herein, a Ni-based porous supramolecular framework with graphite-like morphology (Ni-SOF) was rationally designed as a carbon precursor. Ultrathin carbon nanosheets dispersed with Ni nanoparticles and Ni-N_x sites (Ni@NiN_x-N-C) were obtained via in-situ exfoliation during pyrolysis. Due to the hetero-porous structure succeeding from Ni-SOF, the Ni@NiN_x-N-C catalyst showed outstanding bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activity with a narrow gap of 0.69 V between potential to deliver 10 mA cm^-2 oxygen evolution and half-wave potential of oxygen reduction reaction, which even surpassed the Pt/C + IrO₂ pair. Therefore, the corresponding zinc-air battery exhibited excellent power output and stability. The multiple Ni-based active sites, the unique 2D structure with a high graphitization degree and large specific surface area synergistically contributed to the excellent bifunctional electrocatalytic activity of Ni@NiN_x-N-C. This work provided a novel viewpoint for the development of carbon-based electrocatalyst.

Keywords: Bi-functional catalysis; Ni nanoparticle; Porous supramolecular framework; Ultrathin carbon nanosheet; Zinc-air battery.