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Space‐Confined Yolk‐Shell Construction of Fe 3 O 4 Nanoparticles Inside N‐Doped Hollow Mesoporous Carbon Spheres as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Long‐Term Rechargeable Zinc–Air Batteries
Author(s) -
Wang Bin,
Ye Yuzhen,
Xu Li,
Quan Yu,
Wei Wenxian,
Zhu Wenshuai,
Li Huaming,
Xia Jiexiang
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.202005834
Subject(s) - materials science , bifunctional , nanoparticle , mesoporous material , electrocatalyst , oxygen evolution , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , carbon fibers , electrode , catalysis , electrochemistry , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite number , engineering
Abstract Development of efficient, durable and inexpensive oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts with accelerated kinetics and high‐performance remain a grand challenge in the context of reversible metal–air batteries. Herein, the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles inside N‐doped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (N/HCSs) yolk‐shell structure (Fe x @N/HCSs) is constructed as an excellent bifunctional electrocatalyst for ORR and OER via an innovative approach. The N/HCSs effectively control and confine in situ growth of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles using the melting‐diffusion strategy via capillary force and significantly improve the conductivity and structural stability of the hybrid material. The constructed yolk‐shell structured Fe 20 @N/HCSs ecosystem with Fe–N x active sites exhibits excellent ORR and OER activity and stability, which even surpass commercial grade Pt/C, RuO 2 , IrO 2 and many reported catalysts. Moreover, the zinc–air battery assembled with Fe 20 @N/HCSs as a cathode achieves high open circuit voltage (1.57 V), large power density (140.8 mW cm −2 ), and excellent long‐term cycling performance (over 300 h), revealing superior performance compared to commercial Pt/C + RuO 2 . This work provides a new avenue for the design and optimization of other high‐performance yolk‐shell materials with nanoscale confinement structures.