Premium
Exploring Indium‐Based Ternary Thiospinel as Conceivable High‐Potential Air‐Cathode for Rechargeable Zn–Air Batteries
Author(s) -
Fu Gengtao,
Wang Jie,
Chen Yifan,
Liu Yu,
Tang Yawen,
Goodenough John B.,
Lee JongMin
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201802263
Subject(s) - overpotential , materials science , ternary operation , bifunctional , graphene , oxide , cathode , oxygen evolution , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , catalysis , electrode , inorganic chemistry , electrochemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , metallurgy , computer science , engineering , programming language
Reversible oxygen reactions in Zn–air batteries require cost‐effective and highly‐active bifunctional electrocatalysts to substitute traditional noble‐metal based catalysts. Herein, a new and promising electrocatalytic material, ternary CoIn 2 S 4 thiospinel, is demonstrated for effectively catalyzing oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR and OER) with S‐doped reduced graphene oxide (S‐rGO) as an electronic conductor. Compared with Co 9 S 8 /S‐rGO (without In doping), the newly developed CoIn 2 S 4 /S‐rGO reveals superior electrocatalytic properties for the ORR (half‐wave potential of 0.83 V) and OER (overpotential of 0.37 V at 10 mA cm −2 ), demonstrating that the introduction of In can promote the reversible oxygen electrode reactions of CoIn 2 S 4 . The superior experimentally‐observed electrocatalytic properties are corroborated via density function theory investigations. Meanwhile, the synergistic improvements in the bifunctional activities resulting from the combination of CoIn 2 S 4 and S‐rGO are also confirmed. As a proof of concept, home‐made Zn–air cells are assembled with CoIn 2 S 4 /S‐rGO as an air‐cathode. The developed Zn–air cells exhibit a high peak power density (133 mW cm −2 ) with an energy density of 951 Wh kg Zn −1 and robust cycling stability over 150 cycles for 50 h, exceeding of those commercial Pt/C+RuO 2 which highlights the practical viability of CoIn 2 S 4 /S‐rGO for rechargeable Zn–air batteries.