Mn/Cu nanoclusters-grafted N-doped carbon nanotubes: Robust oxygen electrode catalysts for Zn-air batteries

作者：Wang, Li; Cui, Lili; Ge, Xin; Yue, Nailin; He, Xingquan^*; Zhang, Wei^*; Asefa, Tewodros^*

来源：International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45(51): 27230-27243.

DOI：10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.07.083

• Zinc-air battery
• Mn/Cu nanocluster
• Polyphthalocyanine
• Oxygen electrocatalyst
• Carbon nanotubes

Developing efficient nonprecious electrocatalysts that can drive the oxygen electrode reactions in zinc-air batteries (ZABs) is important but remains challenging. In this work, novel materials comprising Mn/Cu nanoclusters-grafted N-doped carbon nanotubes are synthesized by preparing and then pyrolyzing Mn/Cu polyphthalocyanine-encapsulated carbon nanotubes (CNTs), followed by treating the products with acidic solution. The materials are named CNTs@(Mn,Cu)PPc-T, where T denotes the pyrolysis temperature in degrees C, and they are demonstrated to serve as efficient oxygen electrode catalysts for zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Among them, the one synthesized at 900 degrees C, CNTs@(Mn,Cu)PPc-900, requires more positive onset and half-wave potentials for reduction of oxygen and a low overpotential for the evolution of oxygen. A rechargeable ZAB assembled with CNTs@(Mn,Cu)PPc-900 electrocatalyst delivers a high power density (158.5 mW cm(-2)) and displays an excellent stability in 200 cycles of charge/discharge (in over 33 h). Such performance is even superior to that of a ZAB containing the benchmark Pt/C + RuO2 catalyst as an air cathode under identical testing condition.

• 单位
  rutgers; 吉林大学; 长春理工大学