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Zinc-Sponge Battery Electrodes that Suppress Dendrites
Published on: September 29, 2020
Reactive template-induced core-shell FeCo@C microspheres as multifunctional electrocatalysts for rechargeable
Yanting Xu1, Binling Chen, Jun Nie
1State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Key Laboratory of Carbon Fiber and Functional Polymers, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China. magp@mail.buct.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Sluggish kinetics and thermodynamic unfavorability restrict electrocatalysis for energy storage and conversion reactions such as oxygen reduction/evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions. Herein, we report the synthesis and electrochemical performance of novel core-shell nanoparticles@porous carbon microspheres. A unique core-shell architecture of dual-phase FeCo-based nanoparticles@heteroatom-doped carbon microspheres (FeCo@C MS) has been prepared via a two-step carbonization process from a reactive multifunctional core-double shell template. With the advantages of heterogeneous composition and architectural structure, the obtained FeCo@C MS exhibits excellent performances for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which are comparable to those of commercial Pt/C catalyst. As an excellent cathode catalyst of the Zn-air battery (ZAB), FeCo@C MS exhibits high discharge voltage of 1.27 V, high specific capacity of 503 mA h gZn-1, an energy density of 639 W h kgZn-1, and better cycling durability than the battery having a mixture of 20 wt% Pt/C and RuO2. This approach provides a new way to design structures with controlled morphology and excellent multifunctional electrocatalytic activity.
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