Tuning interface mechanism of FeCo alloy embedded N,S-codoped carbon substrate for rechargeable Zn-air battery

The interface mechanism between catalyst and carbon substrate has been the focus of research. In this paper, the FeCo alloy embedded N,S co -doped carbon substrate bifunctional catalyst (FeCo/S-NC) is obtained by a simple one-step pyrolysis strategy. The experimental results and density functional theory (DFT) calculation show that the formation of FeCo alloy is conducive to promoting electron transfer, and the introduction of S atom can enhance the interaction between FeCo alloy and carbon substrate, thus inhibiting the migration and agglomeration of particles on the surface of carbon material. The FeCo/SNC catalysts show outstanding performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). FeCo/S-NC shows a high half -wave potential ( E 1/2 = 0.8823 V) for ORR and a low overpotential at 10 mA cm -2 ( E j=10 = 299 mV) for OER. In addition, compared with Pt/C+RuO 2 assembled Zn-air battery (ZAB), the FeCo/S-NC assembled ZAB exhibits a larger power density (198.8 mW cm -2 ), a higher specific capacity (786.1 mA h g Z n -1 ), and ultra -stable cycle performance. These results confirm that the optimized composition and the interfacial interaction between catalyst and carbon substrate synergistically enhance the electrochemical performance. (c) 2024 Science Press and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. and Science Press. All rights reserved.