Unprecedented Activity of Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for High Power Density Aqueous Zinc-Air Batteries.

The development of nonprecious metal catalysts with desirable bifunctional activities to supersede noble metal catalysts is of vital importance for high performance aqueous zinc-air batteries. Here, an unprecedented activity of bifunctional electrocatalyst is reported by in situ growth of nitrogen-enriched carbon nanotubes with transition metal composite. The resultant catalyst delivers surprisingly high OER (potential@10 mA cm-2 of 1.58 V) and ORR (onset potential of 0.97 V, half-wave potential of 0.86 V) performance. The overall oxygen electrode activity (overvoltage between ORR and OER) of the catalyst is as low as 0.72 V. In aqueous Zn-air battery tests, primary batteries demonstrate high maximum power density and two-electrode rechargeable batteries also exhibit good cycle performance. The unprecedented electrocatalyst opens up new avenues for developing highly active nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube-supported electrocatalysts and offers prospects for the next generation of fuel cells, metal-air batteries, and photocatalysis applications.