Fe,Ni,S,N-doped carbon materials as highly active Bi-functional catalysts for rechargeable Zinc-Air battery

Rechargeable zinc-air battery is a promising energy device but is limited by the inferior performance of ORR and OER bi-functional catalysts. A porous Fe,Ni-SNC catalyst is synthesized and exhibits both high ORR and OER catalytic activity. The potential difference between ORR and OER is only 0.66 V, lower than that for commercial Pt/C and IrO2 catalysts. The Fe,Ni-SNC based rechargeable zinc-air battery exhibits high power density, high energy efficiency, and high durability. The high performance is attributed to the Fe, Ni bimetal doping and the N, S non-metal doping, which creates highly active catalytic sites. This bi-functional catalyst has potential application in the rechargeable zinc-air battery.