Tuning the charge distribution and crystal field of iron single atoms via iron oxide integration for enhanced oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air batteries

doi:10.1016/j.jechem.2023.06.007

Abstract

Abstract: Metal-air batteries face a great challenge in developing efficient and durable low-cost oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts. Single-atom iron catalysts embedded into nitrogen doped carbon (Fe-N-C) have emerged as attractive materials for potential replacement of Pt in ORR, but their catalytic performance was limited by the symmetrical electronic structure distribution around the single-atom Fe site. Here, we report our findings in significantly enhancing the ORR performance of Fe-N-C by moderate Fe₂O₃integration via the strong electronic interaction. Remarkably, the optimized catalyst (M-Fe₂O₃/Fe_SA@NC) exhibits excellent activity, durability and good tolerance to methanol, outperforming the benchmark Pt/C catalyst. When M-Fe₂O₃/Fe_SA@NC catalyst was used in a practical zinc-air battery assembly, peak power density of 155 mW cm^-2and specific capacity of 762 mA h g_Zn^-1 were achieved and the battery assembly has shown superior cycling stability over a period of 200 h. More importantly, theoretical studies suggest that the introduction of Fe₂O₃ can evoke the crystal field alteration and electron redistribution on single Fe atoms, which can break the symmetric charge distribution of Fe-N₄ and thereby optimize the corresponding adsorption energy of intermediates to promote the O₂ reduction. This study provides a new pathway to promote the catalytic performance of single-atom catalysts.

Key words: Single-atom catalysts, Oxide nanoclusters, Electronic interactions, Oxygen reduction reaction, Zn-air battery

Feifei Zhang, Yinlong Zhu, Yijun Zhong, Jing Zou, Yu Chen, Lianhai Zu, Zhouyou Wang, Jack Jon Hinsch, Yun Wang, Lian Zhang, Zongping Shao, Huanting Wang. Tuning the charge distribution and crystal field of iron single atoms via iron oxide integration for enhanced oxygen reduction reaction in zinc-air batteries[J]. Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2023, 85(10): 154-163.

×
share this article

Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX

URL: https://www.jenergychem.com/EN/10.1016/j.jechem.2023.06.007

https://www.jenergychem.com/EN/Y2023/V85/I10/154

References

[1] C. Tang, M. Titirici, Q. Zhang, J. Energy Chem. 26(2017) 1077-1093.
[2] C. Shi, Y. Liu, R. Qi, J. Li, J. Zhu, R. Yu, S. Li, X. Hong, J. Wu, S. Xi, L. Zhou, L. Mai, Nano Energy 87 (2021).
[3] S. Zhang, W. Yang, Y. Liang, X. Yang, M. Cao, R. Cao, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 285 (2021).
[4] W. Zhai, S. Huang, C. Lu, X. Tang, L. Li, B. Huang, T. Hu, K. Yuan, X. Zhuang, Y. Chen, Small 18 (2022) 2107225.
[5] Y. Zhang, X.P. Kong, X. Lin, K. Hu, W. Zhao, G. Xie, X. Lin, X. Liu, Y. Ito, H.J. Qiu, J. Energy Chem. 66(2022) 466-473.
[6] J. Li, H. Xue, N. Xu, X. Zhang, Y. Wang, R. He, H. Huang, J. Qiao,Mater. Rep. Energy 2(2022).
[7] Z. Wang, C. Zhu, H. Tan, J. Liu, L. Xu, Y. Zhang, Y. Liu, X. Zou, Z. Liu, X. Lu, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31(2021) 2104735.
[8] C.X. Zhao, B.Q. Li, J.N. Liu, Q. Zhang, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60(2021) 4448-4463.
[9] L. Ma, S. Chen, Z. Pei, Y. Huang, G. Liang, F. Mo, Q. Yang, J. Su, Y. Gao, J.A. Zapien, C. Zhi, ACS Nano 12 (2018) 1949-1958.
[10] L. Zhu, D. Zheng, Z. Wang, X. Zheng, P. Fang, J. Zhu, M. Yu, Y. Tong, X. Lu, Adv. Mater. 30(2018) 1805268.
[11] X. Cui, L. Gao, S. Lei, S. Liang, J. Zhang, C.D. Sewell, W. Xue, Q. Liu, Z. Lin, Y. Yang, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31(2021) 2009197.
[12] H.Y. Wang, C.C. Weng, Z.Y. Yuan, J. Energy Chem. 56(2021) 470-485.
[13] Y. Jia, Y. Wang, G. Zhang, C. Zhang, K. Sun, X. Xiong, J. Liu, X. Sun, J. Energy Chem. 49(2020) 283-290.
[14] Y. Zhou, Y. Yu, D. Ma, A.C. Foucher, L. Xiong, J. Zhang, E.A. Stach, Q. Yue, Y. Kang, ACS Catal. 11(2021) 74-81.
[15] B. Wang, X. Wang, J. Zou, Y. Yan, S. Xie, G. Hu, Y. Li, A. Dong, Nano Lett. 17(2017) 2003-2009.
[16] B. Wang, J. Zou, X. Shen, Y. Yang, G. Hu, W. Li, Z. Peng, D. Banham, A. Dong, D. Zhao, Nano Energy 63 (2019).
[17] X. Ao, W. Zhang, Z. Li, J.G. Li, L. Soule, X. Huang, W.H. Chiang, H.M. Chen, C. Wang, M. Liu, X.C. Zeng, ACS Nano 13 (2019) (1862) 11853-11861.
[18] H. Zhang, H.T. Chung, D.A. Cullen, S. Wagner, U.I. Kramm, K.L. More, P. Zelenay, G. Wu, Energy Environ. Sci. 12(2019) 2548-2558.
[19] Y. Sun, J. Wang, Q. Liu, M. Xia, Y. Tang, F. Gao, Y. Hou, J. Tse, Y. Zhao, J. Mater. Chem. A 7 (2019) 27175-27185.
[20] Y. Zhao, Y. Wu, J. Liu, F. Wang, ACS Appl. Mater. Interface 9 (2017) 35740-35748.
[21] Y. Lin, K. Liu, K. Chen, Y. Xu, H. Li, J. Hu, Y.R. Lu, T.S. Chan, X. Qiu, J. Fu, M. Liu, ACS Catal. 11(2021) 6304-6315.
[22] S.N. Zhao, J.K. Li, R. Wang, J. Cai, S.Q. Zang, Adv. Mater. 34(2022) 2107291.
[23] A. Han, X. Wang, K. Tang, Z. Zhang, C. Ye, K. Kong, H. Hu, L. Zheng, P. Jiang, C. Zhao, Q. Zhang, D. Wang, Y. Li, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60(2021) 19262-19271.
[24] H. Sun, M. Wang, S. Zhang, S. Liu, X. Shen, T. Qian, X. Niu, J. Xiong, C. Yan, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31(2021) 2006533.
[25] Y. Wu, C. Ye, L. Yu, Y. Liu, J. Huang, J. Bi, L. Xue, J. Sun, J. Yang, W. Zhang, X. Wang, P. Xiong, J. Zhu, Energy Storage Mater. 45(2022) 805-813.
[26] K. Yuan, D. Lützenkirchen-Hecht, L. Li, L. Shuai, Y. Li, R. Cao, M. Qiu, X. Zhuang, M. K.H.Leung, Y. Chen, U.Scherf, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 142(2020) 2404-2412.
[27] S. Gao, H. Yang, D. Rao, N. Wang, Y. Li, J. Li, S. Rao, C. Maouche, Z. Wu, B. Li, Y. Zhou, J. Yang,Chem. Eng. J. 433(2022).
[28] X. Wan, Q. Liu, J. Liu, S. Liu, X. Liu, L. Zheng, J. Shang, R. Yu, J. Shui, Nat. Commun. 13(2022) 2963.
[29] G. Kresse, J. Furthmüller, Comput. Mater. Sci. 6(1996) 15-50.
[30] G. Kresse, D. Joubert, Phys. Rev. B 59 (1999) 1758.
[31] J.P. Perdew, K. Burke, M. Ernzerhof, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77(1996) 3865.
[32] J. Klimeš, A. Michaelides, J. Chem. Phys. 137(2012).
[33] S. Grimme, J. Antony, S. Ehrlich, H. Krieg, J. Chem. Phys. 132(2010).
[34] S.L. Dudarev, G.A. Botton, S.Y. Savrasov, C.J. Humphreys, A.P. Sutton, Phys. Rev. B 57 (1998) 1505.
[35] J. Liu, J.J. Hinsch, H. Yin, P. Liu, H. Zhao, Y. Wang, J. Phys. Chem. C 126 (2022) 7066-7075.
[36] J. Liu, H. Yin, P. Liu, S. Chen, S. Yin, W. Wang, H. Zhao, Y. Wang, J. Phys. Chem.Lett. 10(2019) 6955-6961.
[37] Y. Wang, X. Liu, J. Liu, M. Al-Mamun, A.W. Liew, H. Yin, W. Wen, Y.L. Zhong, P. Liu, H. Zhao, ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 1(2018) 1688-1694.
[38] Z. Yao, Y. Li, D. Chen, Y. Zhang, X. Bao, J. Wang, Q. Zhong,Chem. Eng. J. 415(2021).
[39] S.A. Shah, X. Shen, A. Yuan, Z. Ji, X. Yue, G. Zhu, H. Zhou, K. Xu, J. Zhu, Y. Chen,Appl. Surf. Sci. 527(2020).
[40] T. Zhang, L. Guan, C. Li, J. Zhao, M. Wang, L. Peng, J. Wang, Y. Lin, Catalysts 8 (2018) 101.
[41] Y. Lei, F. Yang, H. Xie, Y. Lei, X. Liu, Y. Si, H. Wang, J. Mater. Chem. A 8 (2020) 20629-20636.
[42] F. Zhang, Y. Zhu, C. Tang, Y. Chen, B. Qian, Z. Hu, Y.C. Chang, C.W. Pao, Q. Lin, S. A. Kazemi, Y. Wang, L. Zhang, X. Zhang, H. Wang, Adv. Funct. Mater. 32(2022) 2110224.
[43] S. Sultan, J.N. Tiwari, J.H. Jang, A.M. Harzandi, F. Salehnia, S.J. Yoo, K.S. Kim, Adv. Energy Mater. 8(2018) 1801002.
[44] J. Li, C. Jiao, J. Zhu, L. Zhong, T. Kang, S. Aslam, J. Wang, S. Zhao, Y. Qiu, J. Energy Chem. 57(2021) 469-476.
[45] C.C. Hou, L. Zou, L. Sun, K. Zhang, Z. Liu, Y. Li, C. Li, R. Zou, J. Yu, Q. Xu, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 59(2020) 7384-7389.
[46] Y. Guo, P. Yuan, J. Zhang, Y. Hu, I.S. Amiinu, X. Wang, J. Zhou, H. Xia, Z. Song, Q. Xu, S. Mu, ACS Nano 12 (2018) 1894-1901.
[47] Z.Y. Wu, M. Karamad, X. Yong, Q. Huang, D.A. Cullen, P. Zhu, C. Xia, Q. Xiao, M. Shakouri, F.Y. Chen, J.Y. Kim, Y. Xia, K. Heck, Y. Hu, M.S. Wong, Q. Li, I. Gates, S. Siahrostami, H. Wang, Nat. Commun. 12(2021) 2870.
[48] X. Chen, N. Wang, K. Shen, Y. Xie, Y. Tan, Y. Li, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 11 (2019) 25976-25985.
[49] X. Li, S. Xi, L. Sun, S. Dou, Z. Huang, T. Su, X. Wang, Adv. Sci. 7(2020) 2001545.
[50] Y. Chen, Z. Li, Y. Zhu, D. Sun, X. Liu, L. Xu, Y. Tang, Adv. Mater. 31(2019) 1806312.
[51] J. Han, H. Bao, J.Q. Wang, L. Zheng, S. Sun, Z.L. Wang, C. Sun, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 280 (2021).
[52] A. Zitolo, V. Goellner, V. Armel, M. Sougrati, T. Mineva, L. Stievano, E. Fonda, F. Jaouen, Nat. Mater. 14(2015) 937-942.
[53] G. Gan, X. Li, S. Fan, Z. Yin, L. Wang, G. Chen, Nano Energy 80 (2021).
[54] G. Gan, X. Li, L. Wang, S. Fan, J. Mu, P. Wang, G. Chen, ACS Nano 14 (2020) 9929-9937.
[55] Z. Miao, X. Wang, M.C. Tsai, Q. Jin, J. Liang, F. Ma, T. Wang, S. Zheng, B.J. Hwang, Y. Huang, S. Guo, Q. Li, Adv. Energy Mater. 8(2018) 1801226.
[56] L. Yang, D. Cheng, H. Xu, X. Zeng, X. Wan, J. Shui, Z. Xiang, D. Cao, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 115(2018) 6626-6631.
[57] P. Duan, J. Pan, W. Du, Q. Yue, B. Gao, X. Xu, Appl. Catal. B Environ. 299 (2021).
[58] F. Xiao, G.L. Xu, C.J. Sun, M. Xu, W. Wen, Q. Wang, M. Gu, S. Zhu, Y. Li, Z. Wei, X. Pan, J. Wang, K. Amine, M. Shao, Nano Energy 61 (2019) 60-68.
[59] Y. Chen, S. Ji, Y. Wang, J. Dong, W. Chen, Z. Li, R. Shen, L. Zheng, Z. Zhuang, D. Wang, Y. Li, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 56(2017) 6937-6941.
[60] R. Jiang, L. Li, T. Sheng, G. Hu, Y. Chen, L. Wang, J. Am. Chem.Soc. 140(2018) 11594-11598.
[61] Y. Hou, M. Qiu, M.G. Kim, P. Liu, G. Nam, T. Zhang, X. Zhuang, B. Yang, J. Cho, M. Chen, C. Yuan, L. Lei, X. Feng, Nat. Commun. 10(2019) 1392.
[62] K. Khan, X. Yan, Q. Yu, S.H. Bae, J.J. White, J. Liu, T. Liu, C. Sun, J. Kim, H.M. Cheng, Y. Wang, B. Liu, K. Amine, X. Pan, Z. Luo, Nano energy 90 (2021).
[63] Z. Zhu, H. Yin, Y. Wang, C.H. Chuang, L. Xing, M. Dong, Y.R. Lu, G. Casillas-Garcia, Y. Zheng, S. Chen, Y. Dou, P. Liu, Q. Cheng, H. Zhao, Adv. Mater. 32(2020) 2004670.
[64] C. Shao, L. Wu, H. Zhang, Q. Jiang, X. Xu, Y. Wang, S. Zhuang, H. Chu, L. Sun, J. Ye, B. Li, X. Wang, Adv. Funct. Mater. 31(2021) 2100833.
[65] W.H. Lai, L. Zhang, Z. Yan, W. Hua, S. Indris, Y. Lei, H. Liu, Y.X. Wang, Z. Hu, H.K. Liu, S. Chou, G. Wang, S.X. Dou, Nano Lett. 21(2021) 7970-7978.
[66] J. Yang, Z. Wang, C.X. Huang, Y. Zhang, Q. Zhang, C. Chen, J. Du, X. Zhou, Y. Zhang, H. Zhou, L. Wang, X. Zheng, L. Gu, L.M. Yang, Y. Wu, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 60(2021) 22722-22728.