FePc-Modified CoFe₂O₄ Synergistic Boost Oxygen Electrocatalysis for Metal-Air Batteries

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Metal-air batteries (MABs) face challenges with slow oxygen reduction (ORR) and evolution (OER) reaction kinetics.
• Developing efficient catalysts is crucial for optimizing MAB performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate a bifunctional catalyst, FePc-CoFe2O4/CNT, for improved ORR and OER kinetics in MABs.
• To investigate the synergistic effects between FePc and CoFe2O4/CNT for enhanced catalytic activity.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of FePc-CoFe2O4/CNT via a scalable method utilizing π-π stacking.
• Electrochemical characterization to evaluate ORR and OER performance.
• Testing the catalyst in aqueous zinc-air batteries (ZABs) and lithium-air batteries (LABs).

Main Results:

• The FePc-CoFe2O4/CNT catalyst demonstrated accelerated reaction kinetics, evidenced by a reduced potential gap (ΔE = 0.82 V).
• In ZABs, the catalyst achieved a power density of 199.5 mW cm⁻² and over 1000 h of stable cycling.
• In LABs, the catalyst maintained 99.8% capacity retention after 225 cycles, outperforming Pt/C + RuO2.

Conclusions:

• The synergistic interaction between FePc and CoFe2O4/CNT effectively enhances catalytic activity for MABs.
• The developed catalyst shows significant potential for high-performance ZABs and LABs.
• This study offers insights into designing advanced catalysts for metal-air battery applications.