Recently, Li Xu published the latest research work titled “Dual-active-sites Design of CoNx Anchored on Zinc-coordinated Nitrogen-codoped Porous Carbon with Efficient Oxygen Catalysis for High-stable Rechargeable Zinc-air Batteries” (Chem. Eng. J. 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.127321) online in Chemical Engineering Journal (Top journal of chemical engineering, IF: 10.652). Jiangsu University is the first completed department of this paper. Associate professor Li Xu is the first author. Prof. Henan Li is the corresponding author.
The sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is the bottleneck for practical applications of zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Developing highly efficient ORR electrocatalysts is of the essence for large-scale applications of ZABs. Herein, This work designed and synthesized the CoNx/Zn, N co-doped porous carbon structure (CoNx/Zn-NC) by self-polymerization of biomass materials and coupling of nitrogen-rich species with metallic ions. The introduced zinc element can regulate electronic structures of electrocatalysts and construct bimetallic active sites (N-Co/N-Zn species), facilitating the adsorption of reaction intermediates and further enhancing electrocatalytic performance. The porous carbon structure obtained by the self-polymerization of locust bean gum not only disperses active sites but also improves the O2 and electron transfer efficiency of electrocatalysts. The CoNx/Zn-NC exhibited excellent ORR electrocatalytic performance as well as outstanding stability. Impressively, the ZABs assembled with CoNx/Zn-NC demonstrated a high maximum power density, specific capacitance, and excellent charge/discharge cycling stability for 115 h, surpassing noble-metal based Pt/C catalyst.
The research work is financed by National Natural Science Foundation of China, Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, High-tech Research Key laboratory of Zhenjiang and a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.
