Ni single atoms anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets as bifunctional electrocatalysts for Urea-assisted rechargeable Zn-air batteries

Hao Jiang; Jing Xia; Long Jiao; Xiangmin Meng; Pengfei Wang; Chun-Sing Lee; Wenjun Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121352

Ni single atoms anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets as bifunctional electrocatalysts for Urea-assisted rechargeable Zn-air batteries

Hao Jiang, Jing Xia, Long Jiao, Xiangmin Meng, Pengfei Wang, Chun-Sing Lee, Wenjun Zhang^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

136 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions is a bottleneck for the development of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, we report a bifunctional electrocatalyst synthesized by anchoring individually dispersed Ni single atoms on N-doped carbon nanosheets (Ni SAs-NC), which exhibits an outstanding overall performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR). Based on that, a conceptual urea-assisted rechargeable ZAB by coupling ORR with UOR of a low thermodynamic potential is demonstrated to have significantly decreased charging voltage and high urea elimination rate. The high bifunctional electrocatalytic activities of Ni SAs-NC endow the urea-assisted ZAB with a dramatically increased energy conversion efficiency of 71.8%, which is improved by 17.1% as compares with the conventional ZABs. The successful implementation of Ni SACs based urea-assisted rechargeable ZABs with an improved energy conversion efficiency may prompt ZAB technology towards practical applications.

Original language	English
Article number	121352
Journal	Applied Catalysis B: Environmental
Volume	310
Online published	30 Mar 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121352
Publication status	Published - 5 Aug 2022

Funding

This work is supported by General Research Fund (CityU 11308120 and CityU 11307619), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project no. 51872249; 52172241).

Research Keywords

Bifunctional activity
Oxygen reduction reaction
Single atom catalysts
Urea oxidation reaction
Zn-air batteries

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RGC-funded

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121352

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title = "Ni single atoms anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets as bifunctional electrocatalysts for Urea-assisted rechargeable Zn-air batteries",

abstract = "The sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions is a bottleneck for the development of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, we report a bifunctional electrocatalyst synthesized by anchoring individually dispersed Ni single atoms on N-doped carbon nanosheets (Ni SAs-NC), which exhibits an outstanding overall performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR). Based on that, a conceptual urea-assisted rechargeable ZAB by coupling ORR with UOR of a low thermodynamic potential is demonstrated to have significantly decreased charging voltage and high urea elimination rate. The high bifunctional electrocatalytic activities of Ni SAs-NC endow the urea-assisted ZAB with a dramatically increased energy conversion efficiency of 71.8%, which is improved by 17.1% as compares with the conventional ZABs. The successful implementation of Ni SACs based urea-assisted rechargeable ZABs with an improved energy conversion efficiency may prompt ZAB technology towards practical applications.",

keywords = "Bifunctional activity, Oxygen reduction reaction, Single atom catalysts, Urea oxidation reaction, Zn-air batteries",

author = "Hao Jiang and Jing Xia and Long Jiao and Xiangmin Meng and Pengfei Wang and Chun-Sing Lee and Wenjun Zhang",

year = "2022",

month = aug,

day = "5",

doi = "10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121352",

language = "English",

volume = "310",

journal = "Applied Catalysis B: Environmental",

issn = "0926-3373",

publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ni single atoms anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets as bifunctional electrocatalysts for Urea-assisted rechargeable Zn-air batteries

AU - Jiang, Hao

AU - Xia, Jing

AU - Jiao, Long

AU - Meng, Xiangmin

AU - Wang, Pengfei

AU - Lee, Chun-Sing

AU - Zhang, Wenjun

PY - 2022/8/5

Y1 - 2022/8/5

N2 - The sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions is a bottleneck for the development of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, we report a bifunctional electrocatalyst synthesized by anchoring individually dispersed Ni single atoms on N-doped carbon nanosheets (Ni SAs-NC), which exhibits an outstanding overall performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR). Based on that, a conceptual urea-assisted rechargeable ZAB by coupling ORR with UOR of a low thermodynamic potential is demonstrated to have significantly decreased charging voltage and high urea elimination rate. The high bifunctional electrocatalytic activities of Ni SAs-NC endow the urea-assisted ZAB with a dramatically increased energy conversion efficiency of 71.8%, which is improved by 17.1% as compares with the conventional ZABs. The successful implementation of Ni SACs based urea-assisted rechargeable ZABs with an improved energy conversion efficiency may prompt ZAB technology towards practical applications.

AB - The sluggish kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions is a bottleneck for the development of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs). Herein, we report a bifunctional electrocatalyst synthesized by anchoring individually dispersed Ni single atoms on N-doped carbon nanosheets (Ni SAs-NC), which exhibits an outstanding overall performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR). Based on that, a conceptual urea-assisted rechargeable ZAB by coupling ORR with UOR of a low thermodynamic potential is demonstrated to have significantly decreased charging voltage and high urea elimination rate. The high bifunctional electrocatalytic activities of Ni SAs-NC endow the urea-assisted ZAB with a dramatically increased energy conversion efficiency of 71.8%, which is improved by 17.1% as compares with the conventional ZABs. The successful implementation of Ni SACs based urea-assisted rechargeable ZABs with an improved energy conversion efficiency may prompt ZAB technology towards practical applications.

KW - Bifunctional activity

KW - Oxygen reduction reaction

KW - Single atom catalysts

KW - Urea oxidation reaction

KW - Zn-air batteries

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U2 - 10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121352

DO - 10.1016/j.apcatb.2022.121352

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 0926-3373

VL - 310

JO - Applied Catalysis B: Environmental

JF - Applied Catalysis B: Environmental

M1 - 121352

ER -

Ni single atoms anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets as bifunctional electrocatalysts for Urea-assisted rechargeable Zn-air batteries

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

UN SDGs

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GRF: Single Metal Atoms Anchored on Nanostructured Diamond for Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction under Ambient Conditions

GRF: Doped Diamond Films with Nanostructured Surfaces for Ammonia Synthesis via Electrochemical Nitrogen Fixation under Ambient Conditions

Cite this

Ni single atoms anchored on N-doped carbon nanosheets as bifunctional electrocatalysts for Urea-assisted rechargeable Zn-air batteries

Abstract

Funding

Research Keywords

RGC Funding Information

UN SDGs

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Permanent Link

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Projects

GRF: Single Metal Atoms Anchored on Nanostructured Diamond for Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction under Ambient Conditions

GRF: Doped Diamond Films with Nanostructured Surfaces for Ammonia Synthesis via Electrochemical Nitrogen Fixation under Ambient Conditions

Cite this