Iron, Cobalt, and Nickel Phthalocyanine Tri-Doped Electrospun Carbon Nanofibre-Based Catalyst for Rechargeable Zinc–Air Battery Air Electrode
Kaur Muuli, Rohit Kumar, Marek Mooste, Viktoria Gudkova, Alexey Treshchalov, Helle‐Mai Piirsoo, Arvo Kikas, Jaan Aruväli, Vambola Kisand, Aile Tamm, Andres Krumme, Prabu Moni, Michaela Wilhelm, Kaido Tammeveski
Abstract
The goal of achieving the large-scale production of zero-emission vehicles by 2035 will create high expectations for electric vehicle (EV) development and availability. Currently, a major problem is the lack of suitable batteries and battery materials in large quantities. The rechargeable zinc–air battery (RZAB) is a promising energy-storage technology for EVs due to the environmental friendliness and low production cost. Herein, iron, cobalt, and nickel phthalocyanine tri-doped electrospun carbon nanofibre-based (FeCoNi-CNF) catalyst material is presented as an affordable and promising alternative to Pt-group metal (PGM)-based catalyst. The FeCoNi-CNF-coated glassy carbon electrode showed an oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction reversibility of 0.89 V in 0.1 M KOH solution. In RZAB, the maximum discharge power density (Pmax) of 120 mW cm−2 was obtained with FeCoNi-CNF, which is 86% of the Pmax measured with the PGM-based catalyst. Furthermore, during the RZAB charge–discharge cycling, the FeCoNi-CNF air electrode was found to be superior to the commercial PGM electrocatalyst in terms of operational durability and at least two times higher total life-time.