Edge-doping modulation of N, P-codoped porous carbon spheres for high-performance rechargeable Zn-air batteries. (June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Si; Zhao, Lanling; Ma, Jizhen; Wang, Yueqing; Dai, Liming; Zhang, Jintao
• Is Part Of: Nano energy. Volume 60(2019)
• Page Start: 536
• Page End: 544
• Publication Date: 2019-06
• Subjects: Bifunctional electrocatalysis -- Edge-doping -- Zn-air battery -- Porous carbon; Nanoscience -- Periodicals; Nanotechnology -- Periodicals; Nanostructured materials -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Technological innovations -- Periodicals; Nanoscience; Nanostructured materials; Nanotechnology; Power resources -- Technological innovations; Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.03.084
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2211-2855

Abstract

Abstract: The development of low-cost efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts is of importance for optimizing the performance of metal-air batteries. By using manganese dioxide spheres as both the redox initiator and the self-sacrificing template for the in-situ interfacial polymerization of aniline monomers, we demonstrated a facile approach to preparing porous polyaniline spheres in the presence of phytic acid. Subsequent pyrolysis led to nitrogen and phosphorous co-doped carbon spheres (NPCSs) with highly porous structure and good bifunctional electrocatalytic activities for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Specifically, NPCSs exhibited a comparable half-wave potential (0.83 V vs. RHE) to that of commercial Pt/C, but a larger current density, for ORR and was superior to RuO2 (overpotential, 320 mV) for OER with a smaller overpotential of 310 mV. The Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations revealed firstly that the heteroatom-doping at the edges of the porous structure plays a dominate role in achieving the high bifunctional catalytic activities. Furthermore, the bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis enabled the fabrication of high-performance Zn-air batteries in aqueous and solid-state electrolytes, exhibiting large energy density, high power density, and good cycling stability. Graphical abstract: The formation of highly porous carbon spheres with N, P doping at the edges enables the bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis for fabricating rechargeable Zn-air battery with high performance.Image 1 Highlights: 1. The in-situ interfacial polymerization of aniline monomers renders the preparation of highly porous polyaniline spheres by using a self-sacrificing template 2. The subsequent pyrolysis leads to the formation of nitrogen and phosphorous co-doped carbon spheres (NPCSs) with good bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activities. 3. The experimental results and DFT calculations reveal firstly that the heteroatom-doping at the edges of the porous structure play a dominate role in achieving the high bifunctional activities. 4. The advanced bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst enables the fabrication of high-performance solid-state Zn-air batteries with good flexibility.