Highly stable and porous triple perovskite oxide as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for rechargeable Zn-air batteries
Yousuf Ali, Swarit Dwivedi, Masood S. Alivand, A. Sanjid, Akshat Tanksale, Parama Chakraborty Banerjee
Abstract
The depletion of fossil fuels and associated greenhouse effects pose critical challenges for modern power generation. Zinc-air batteries offer a promising solution due to their natural abundance, safety, and low cost. In this study, triple perovskite-based electrocatalysts were synthesized via a sol–gel method to address the need for stable, cost-effective, and active catalysts. Among them, La 1.5 Sr 1.5 Co 1.5 Fe 1.5 O 9−δ (LSCFO) exhibited outstanding bifunctional activity for the oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER), with a potential gap (ΔE) of 0.73 V at 10 mA cm −2 . Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed optimized adsorption energies, enhanced charge transfer capabilities, and the formation of oxygen vacancies due to the partial substitution of A- and B-site elements by Sr and Fe. In zinc-air batteries, LSCFO achieved a high specific energy density of 753.1 mAh g −1 , excellent discharge and charge voltages, and stability over 1100 h. These results position LSCFO as a comparatively cost-effective, scalable alternative to precious metal catalysts for zinc-air batteries.