Tellurium intervened Fe-N codoped carbon for improved oxygen reduction reaction and high-performance Zn-air batteries

Pyrolysis-acquired iron and nitrogen codoped carbon (Fe-N-C) has been comprehensively investigated for its promising oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic performance and structural complexity. The modification of non-metal elements with larger atomic radius and the corresponding intrinsic microstructure-property relations are rarely reported. In this study, tellurium (Te) intervened Fe-N-C was prepared by micelles-induced polymerization with Te nanowires as an in-situ intervening agent. The out-plane bonding of Te with Fe induced the increase of both N content and proportion of pyridinic N on the material surface, thus improving the ORR catalytic performance. The assembled Zn-air battery demonstrated a maximum power density of 250 mW/cm2 and excellent rate capability under various discharge current densities, which was much better than the Pt/C. Overall, the current work demonstrates a novel Te/Fe-N-C material and reveals an original Te intervened Fe-N-C strategy and N reconfiguration mechanism, which is of great significance for the design of key materials in energy-related fields.