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Enhancing bifunctionality of CoN nanowires by Mn doping for long-lasting Zn-air batteries

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Abstract

Tailoring the nanostructure and composition of transition metal nitrides is highly important for their use as potent low-cost electrocatalysts. Cobalt nitride (CoN) exhibits strong catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, its poor catalytic efficiency for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) hinders its application in rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) as the air cathode. In this work, we deploy the effective strategy of Mn doping to improve both OER and ORR activity of CoN nanowires as the cathode material for ZAB. Theoretical calculation predicts that moderate Mn doping in cobalt nitride results in a downshift of the d-band center and reduces the adsorption energy of reaction intermediates. With ∼10 at% Mn dopants, stronger catalysis activities for both OER and ORR are achieved compared to pure CoN nanowires. Subsequently, both aqueous and flexible quasi-solid-state ZABs are constructed using the Mn-doped CoN nanowires array as additive-free air cathode. Both types of devices present large open circuit potential, high power density and long-cycle stability. This work pushes forward the progress in developing cost-effective ZABs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Singapore MOE AcRF Tier 2 Grant (MOE2017-T2-1-073), AME Individual Research Grant (A1983c0026), and Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 21 Nanyang Link, 637371, Singapore, Singapore

    Yongqi Zhang, Guankui Long, Hua Tan, Zhe Wang, Weibo Gao & Hong Jin Fan

  2. Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, China

    Yongqi Zhang

  3. Department of Applied Physics and Institution of Energy and Microstructure, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China

    Bo Ouyang

  4. Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), Innovis, 138634, Singapore, Singapore

    Zheng Zhang

  5. Natural Sciences and Science Education, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637616, Singapore

    Rajdeep Singh Rawat

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  1. Yongqi Zhang
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  2. Bo Ouyang
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  3. Guankui Long
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  4. Hua Tan
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  9. Hong Jin Fan
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Correspondence to Rajdeep Singh Rawat or Hong Jin Fan.

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Zhang, Y., Ouyang, B., Long, G. et al. Enhancing bifunctionality of CoN nanowires by Mn doping for long-lasting Zn-air batteries. Sci. China Chem. 63, 890–896 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-020-9739-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-020-9739-2

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