posted on 2018-08-20, 00:00authored byWenjie Zang, Afriyanti Sumboja, Yuanyuan Ma, Hong Zhang, Yue Wu, Sisi Wu, Haijun Wu, Zhaolin Liu, Cao Guan, John Wang, Stephen J. Pennycook
Exploration
of cheap, efficient, and highly durable transition-metal-based
electrocatalysts is critically important for the renewable energy
chain, including both energy storage and energy conversion. Herein,
we have developed cobalt (Co) single atoms anchored in porous nitrogen-doped
carbon nanoflake arrays, synthesized from Co-MOF precursor and followed
by removal of the unwanted Co clusters. The well-dispersed Co single
atoms are attached to the carbon network through N–Co bonding,
where there is extra porosity and active surface area created by the
removal of the Co metal clusters. Interestingly, compared with those
electrocatalysts containing excess Co nanoparticles, a single Co atom
alone demonstrates a lower oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential
and much higher oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) saturation current,
showing that the Co metal clusters are redundant in driving both OER
and ORR. Given the bifunctional electrocatalytic activity and mechanical
flexibility, the electrocatalyst assembled on carbon cloth is employed
as the air cathode in a solid-state Zn–air battery, which presents
good cycling stabilities (2500 min, 125 cycles) as well as a high
open circuit potential (1.411 V).