Highly dispersed Co nanoparticles decorated on a N-doped defective carbon nano-framework for a hybrid Na–air battery

Jingyi Zhu; Tao Qu; Fengmei Su; Yuqi Wu; Yao Kang; Kunfeng Chen; Yaochun Yao; Wenhui Ma; Bing Yang; Yongnian Dai; Feng Liang; Dongfeng Xue

doi:10.1039/C9DT04073K

Highly dispersed Co nanoparticles decorated on a N-doped defective carbon nano-framework for a hybrid Na–air battery†

Jingyi Zhu,

‡^a Tao Qu,‡^ab Fengmei Su,^a Yuqi Wu,^a Yao Kang,*^c Kunfeng Chen,

^d Yaochun Yao,

^a Wenhui Ma,^a Bing Yang,^a Yongnian Dai,^a Feng Liang

*^ab and Dongfeng Xue

^d

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Faculty of Metallurgical and Energy Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China
E-mail: liangfeng@kust.edu.cn

^b State Key Laboratory of Complex Nonferrous Metal Resources Clean Utilization, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650093, China

^c Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau, China
E-mail: kangyaokmust@gmail.com

^d State Key Laboratory of Rare earth Resources Utilization, Chinese Academy of Science, Changchun 130022, China

Abstract

Efficient and low-cost bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are of vital importance in energy conversion. Herein, an excellent highly dispersed Co nanoparticle decorated N-doped defective carbon nano-framework (Co–N–C) derived from a ZnCo bimetal organic framework (bi-MOF) is reported. A high specific surface area originating from zinc evaporation facilitates the adsorption and desorption of oxygen, which promotes the accessibility of catalytic sites. The abundant Co–N–C species act as strong bridging bonds between Co nanoparticles and carbon materials which facilitate interfacial electron transfer. Co–N–C-0.5 (0.5 represents the molar ratio of Zn in the initial ZIF-67) exhibits a low overpotential gap of 0.94 V due to the number of active sites (e.g. N-doped defective carbon and the CoN_x/Co composite) and fast interfacial electron transfer. In addition, a hybrid Na–air battery with the Co–N–C-0.5 material displays a low voltage gap of 0.31 V and a high round-trip efficiency of 90.0% at a current density of 0.1 mA cm⁻². More importantly, the hybrid Na–air battery shows fantastic cyclability for charging and discharging due to its stable structure. Our results confirm Co–N–C materials derived from a bi-MOF as alternatives to high-cost Pt/C catalysts for ORR and OER activities in metal–air batteries.

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Highly dispersed Co nanoparticles decorated on a N-doped defective carbon nano-framework for a hybrid Na–air battery†

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