FeCo alloy/N,S dual-doped carbon composite as a high-performance bifunctional catalyst in an advanced rechargeable zinc-air battery

The rational design and development of cost-effective,high-performance,and stable bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER)electrocatalysts are essential for rechargeable zinc-air batteries.Herein,a novel FeCo composite composed of alloy nanoparticles embedded in an N,S dual-doped carbon matrix(FeCo/NSC)was prepared via one-step carbonization of amphiphilic dodecanethiol-metal salts wrapped in carbon nitride(C_(3)N_(4)).The compact combination of dual metalalloys and dual-doped carbon endowed the composite with the active sites for the ORR and OER,achieving efficient electrical transmission and highly efficient bifunctional catalytic performance.The obtained FeCo-1/NSC catalyst exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity with a half-wave potential of 0.82 V(vs.RHE)for the ORR and a low overpotential of 0.325 V at 10 mA cm^(-2) for the OER.The liquid Zn-air battery with FeCo-1/NSC as an air electrode displayed excellent charge-discharge performance,high power density,and robust charge-discharge stability for 150 h compared to the 20%Pt/C+RuO_(2) counterpart.Furthermore,the FeCo-1/NSC-based flexible solid-state Zn-air battery exhibited a higher power density and good charge-discharge stability over 10 h of operation.Thus,a promising strategy for bifunctional electrocatalyst development as part of rechargeable and wearable Zn-air batteries was provided.