Atomic Fe-Zn dual-metal sites for high-efficiency pH-universal oxygen reduction catalysis

摘要

An effective electrocatalyst being highly active in all pH range for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)is crucial for energy conversion and storage devices.However,most of the high-efficiency ORR catalysis was reported in alkaline conditions.Herein,we demonstrated the preparation of atomically dispersed Fe-Zn pairs anchored on porous N-doped carbon frameworks(Fe-Zn-SA/NC),which works efficiently as ORR catalyst in the whole pH range.It achieves high half-wave potentials of 0.78,0.85 and 0.72 V in 0.1 M HClO4,0.1 M KOH and 0.1 M phosphate buffer saline(PBS)solutions,respectively,as well as respectable stability.The performances are even comparable to Pt/C.Furthermore,when assembled into a Zn-air battery,the high power density of 167.2 mWcm−2 and 120 h durability reveal the feasibility of Fe-Zn-SA/NC in real energy-related devices.Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the superior catalytic activity of Fe-Zn-SA/NC can be contributed to the lower energy barriers of ORR at the Fe-Zn-N6 centers.This work demonstrates the potential of Fe-Zn pairs as alternatives to the Pt catalysts for efficient catalytic ORR and provides new insights of dual-atom catalysts for other energy conversion related catalytic reactions.