CuFe nanoparticles coupled Cu-Nx for enhancing oxygen reduction reaction

For the large-scale development of zinc-air batteries (ZABs), designing efficient, and cost-effective oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts is crucial yet challenging. Herein, CuFe nanoparticles coupled with Cu-Nx active sites co-anchored on 2D nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanosheets (CuFe@Cu-N-C) were obtained by the pyrolysis of Cu-MOF-74, nitrogen source, and ferric salt. The 2D porous carbon structure and the coupling effect between CuFe nanoparticles and Cu-Nx active sites endowed the CuFe@Cu-N-C electrocatalyst with excellent ORR electrocatalytic performance. Consequently, the CuFe@Cu-N-C electrocatalyst exhibited enhanced ORR activity with a higher half-wave potential than Cu-N-C, surpassing even that of the commercial 20 % Pt/C by 21 mV in alkaline media. Additionally, the CuFe@Cu-N-C electrocatalyst exhibited superior ORR stability to commercial 20 % Pt/C. Primary ZABs assembled with the CuFe@Cu-N-C as the cathode ORR electrocatalyst also showed excellent electrochemical properties. The work shows that the prepared CuFe@Cu-N-C electrocatalyst can serve as an ideal alternative to Pt-based catalysts for ZABs.