Metal-free surface-microporous graphene electrocatalysts from CO2for rechargeable all-solid-state zinc-air batteries

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-15-2021

Department

Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Abstract

Novel surface-microporous graphene (SMG), which was synthesized directly from CO viaits reaction with a Na/K liquid alloy, was demonstrated as a robust metal-free electrocatalyst for the air cathode of ZABs. The SMG-based ZAB (SMG-ZAB) exhibited an excellent peak power density of 65 mW cm at a current density of 83 mA cm , which is comparable to that of the ZAB with a commercial 20% Pt/C cathode (65 mW cm at 84 mA cm ). Furthermore, the SMG-ZAB delivered an unprecedented small charge-discharge voltage gap of 0.25 V at 2 mA cm with excellent durability, which is not only superior to that (0.75 V) of the 20% Pt/C-based ZAB, but also better than any reported values of all-solid-state ZABs. The excellent performance of the SMG electrocatalyst can be attributed to the synergistic effect of its defects and oxygen-containing surface functional groups as well as its unique pore structure of interconnected macropores and surface micropores. This provides a promising route to develop excellent metal-free air cathodes for secondary metal-air batteries from a greenhouse gas.

Publication Title

Journal of Materials Chemistry A

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