z-logo
Premium
Dual‐Template Pore Engineering of Whey Powder‐Derived Carbon as an Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalyst for Primary Zinc‐Air Battery
Author(s) -
Yan Shunyao,
Yu Zixun,
Liu Chang,
Yuan Ziwen,
Wang Chaojun,
Chen Junsheng,
Wei Li,
Chen Yuan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.202000399
Subject(s) - electrocatalyst , catalysis , chemical engineering , battery (electricity) , carbon fibers , heteroatom , limiting current , mesoporous material , materials science , zinc , energy storage , electrochemistry , inorganic chemistry , nanotechnology , chemistry , electrode , metallurgy , organic chemistry , composite material , ring (chemistry) , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics , composite number , engineering
Cost‐effective and high‐performance electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) are needed for many energy storage and conversion devices. Here, we demonstrate that whey powder, a major by‐product in the dairy industry, can be used as a sustainable precursor to produce heteroatom doped carbon electrocatalysts for ORR. Rich N and S compounds in whey powders can generate abundant catalytic active sites. However, these sites are not easily accessible by reactants of ORR. A dual‐template method was used to create a hierarchically and interconnected porous structure with micropores created by ZnCl 2 and large mesopores generated by fumed SiO 2 particles. At the optimum mass ratio of whey power: ZnCl 2  : SiO 2 at 1 : 3 : 0.8, the resulting carbon material has a large specific surface area close to 2000 m 2  g −1 , containing 4.6 at.% of N with 39.7% as pyridinic N. This carbon material shows superior electrocatalytic activity for ORR, with an electron transfer number of 3.88 and a large kinetic limiting current density of 45.40 mA cm −2 . They were employed as ORR catalysts to assemble primary zinc‐air batteries, which deliver a power density of 84.1 mW cm −2 and a specific capacity of 779.5 mAh g −1 , outperforming batteries constructed using a commercial Pt/C catalyst. Our findings open new opportunities to use an abundant biomaterial, whey powder, to create high‐value‐added carbon electrocatalysts for emerging energy applications.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here