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Junkang Chen, Yongyue Zhuang, Yanxin Qiao, Yu Zhang, Aihua Yuan, and Hu Zhou, Co/Co7Fe3 heterostructures with controllable alloying degree on carbon spheres as bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable zinc–air batteries, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater.,(2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-024-2958-9
Cite this article as:
Junkang Chen, Yongyue Zhuang, Yanxin Qiao, Yu Zhang, Aihua Yuan, and Hu Zhou, Co/Co7Fe3 heterostructures with controllable alloying degree on carbon spheres as bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable zinc–air batteries, Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater.,(2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-024-2958-9
shu
Research Article

Co/Co7Fe3 heterostructures with controllable alloying degree on carbon spheres as bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable zinc–air batteries

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  • Corresponding author:

    Hu Zhou    E-mail: zhmiao119@sina.com

  • Received: 16 April 2024; Revised: 28 May 2024; Accepted: 18 June 2024; Available online: 19 June 2024
    Abstract
  • Exploring efficient and nonprecious metal electrocatalysts of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for developing rechargeable zinc–air batteries (ZABs). Herein, an alloying-degree control strategy was employed to fabricate nitrogen-doped carbon sphere (NCS) decorated with dual-phase Co/Co7Fe3 heterojunctions (CoFe@NCS). The phase composition of materials has been adjusted by controlling the alloying degree. The optimal CoFe0.08@NCS electrocatalyst displays a half-wave potential of 0.80 V for ORR and an overpotential of 283 mV at 10 mA·cm−2 for OER in an alkaline electrolyte. The intriguing bifunctional electrocatalytic activity and durability is attributed to the hierarchically porous structure and interfacial electron coupling of highly-active Co7Fe3 alloy and metallic Co species. When the CoFe0.08@NCS material is used as air–cathode catalyst of rechargeable liquid-state zinc–air battery (ZAB), the device shows a high peak power-density (157 mW·cm−2) and maintains a stable voltage gap over 150 h, outperforming those of the benchmark (Pt/C+RuO2)-based device. In particular, the as-fabricated solid-state flexible ZAB delivers a reliable compatibility under different bending conditions. Our work provides a promising strategy to develop metal/alloy-based electrocatalysts for the application in renewable energy conversion technologies.
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