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Neuron-inspired design of hierarchically porous carbon networks embedded with single-iron sites for efficient oxygen reduction

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 September 2022

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Abstract

The rational structure design and active-site regulation of catalysts is crucial for high energy output. Herein, B, F co-doped Fe−N−C embedded in a flexible and free-standing hierarchical porous carbon framework (Fe-SA-FPCS) was reported. Owing to the synergism of optimized intrinsic activity, fast mass transfer and well exposed active sites, the Fe-SA-FPCS exhibits a high half-wave potential (E1/2=0.89 V vs. RHE) and small Tafel slope (66 mV dec−1). Theoretical calculations uncover that B, F co-doping could accelerate the desorption of OH* on Fe sites, which can effectively increase oxygen reduction reaction activity. As the cathode for Zn-air batteries (ZABs), Fe-SA-FPCS demonstrates a high open-circuit voltage (1.51 V), large peak power density (168.4 mW cm−2) and excellent stability. The assembled flexible solid-state ZAB exhibits excellent stability during charge and discharge cycling in the flat/bent state, and is promising for the application of portable and flexible devices. This work provides a new perspective for the fabrication of single-atom electrocatalysts with well-designed structure and excellent electrochemical energy conversion and storage capability.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2020YFA0710000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21825201 and U19A2017), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M682541), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province, China (2020RC2020), and Changsha Municipal Natural Science Foundation (kq2007009).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Bio-Sensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Advanced Catalytic Engineering Research Center of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Yanwei Zhu, Jianqiao Shi, Lang Gan, Li Tao & Shuangyin Wang

  2. College of Environmental science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Xuxu Wang & Binbin Huang

Authors
  1. Yanwei Zhu
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  2. Xuxu Wang
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  3. Jianqiao Shi
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  4. Lang Gan
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  5. Binbin Huang
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  6. Li Tao
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  7. Shuangyin Wang
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Li Tao or Shuangyin Wang.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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The supporting information is available online at http://chem.scichina.com and http://link.springer.com/journal/11426. The supporting materials are published as submitted, without typesetting or editing. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and content remains entirely with the authors.

The online version of the original article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-022-1393-1

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11426_2022_1285_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Neuron-Inspired Design of Hierarchically Porous Carbon Networks Embedded with Single Iron Sites for Efficient Oxygen Reduction

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Zhu, Y., Wang, X., Shi, J. et al. Neuron-inspired design of hierarchically porous carbon networks embedded with single-iron sites for efficient oxygen reduction. Sci. China Chem. 65, 1445–1452 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-022-1285-y

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