Unprecedented Activity of Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for High Power Density Aqueous Zinc–Air Batteries

The development of nonprecious metal catalysts with desirable bifunctional activities to supersede noble metal catalysts is of vital importance for high performance aqueous zinc–air batteries. Here, an unprecedented activity of bifunctional electrocatalyst is reported by in situ growth of nitrogen-enriched carbon nanotubes with transition metal composite. The resultant catalyst delivers surprisingly high OER (potential@10 mA cm^–2 of 1.58 V) and ORR (onset potential of 0.97 V, half-wave potential of 0.86 V) performance. The overall oxygen electrode activity (overvoltage between ORR and OER) of the catalyst is as low as 0.72 V. In aqueous Zn–air battery tests, primary batteries demonstrate high maximum power density and two-electrode rechargeable batteries also exhibit good cycle performance. The unprecedented electrocatalyst opens up new avenues for developing highly active nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube-supported electrocatalysts and offers prospects for the next generation of fuel cells, metal–air batteries, and photocatalysis applications