Cooperation between Dual Metal Atoms and Nanoclusters Enhances Activity and Stability for Oxygen Reduction and Evolution

Abstract

We have achieved the synthesis of dual-metal single atoms and atomic clusters that co-anchor on a highly graphitic carbon support. The catalyst comprises Ni 4 (and Fe 4 ) nanoclusters located adjacent to the corresponding NiN 4 (and FeN 4 ) single-atom sites, which is verified by systematic X-ray absorption characterization and density functional theory calculations. A distinct cooperation between Fe 4 (Ni 4 ) nanoclusters and the corresponding FeN 4 (NiN 4 ) atomic sites optimizes the adsorption energy of reaction intermediates and reduces the energy barrier of the potential-determining steps. This catalyst exhibits enhanced oxygen reduction and evolution activity and long-cycle stability compared to counterparts without nanoclusters and commercial Pt/C. The fabricated Zn−air batteries deliver a high power density and long-term cyclability, demonstrating their prospects in energy storage device applications.

Optimizing electronic synergy of atomically dispersed dual-metal Ni–N4 and Fe–N4 sites with adjacent Fe nanoclusters for high-efficiency oxygen electrocatalysis

“…26–29 However, previously reported studies mainly focus on assembling SACs and metal nanoclusters with a single metal, which cannot realize the maximum OER/ORR performance due to their limited intrinsic activity. Bearing the above-mentioned points in mind, decorating SACs with another adjacent metal single-atomic sites and nanoclusters together and realizing their synergistic coupling would effectively optimize their electronic structures and enrich the oxygen catalytic sites, 30 essentially boosting their oxygen electrocatalytic performance to meet the practical applications of Zn–air batteries. However, to date, it still remains a big challenge to precisely fabricate such system owing to the agglomeration caused by the high surface energy of metal atoms.…”

Stable Mg Single-Atom Solid Base Catalysts Anchored on Metal–Organic Framework-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Carbon

“…ZIF-8 was synthesized and pyrolyzed following the reported procedure. , The purity and crystallinity of ZIF-8 were proven by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) (Figure S1). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of ZIF-8 indicates their morphologies of a standard orthododecahedral shape with a uniform size of ∼200 nm (Figure S2).…”

General synthesis of carbon-guarded cobalt-based nanospheres for oxygen reduction electrocatalysis

“…2f) reveal the presence of metal–N moieties in Ni/Co@NC NPs and Ni/Co@NC, excluding pyridinic N, pyrrolic N, graphitic N, and oxidized N, implying the existence of highly dispersed atomic moieties of Ni and Co for ORR electrocatalysis. 35,36…”