Regulation of Atomic Fe-Spin State by Crystal Field and Magnetic Field for Enhanced Oxygen Electrocatalysis in Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries

Highly-active and low-cost bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and evolution are essential in rechargeable metal-air batteries, and single atom catalysts with Fe−N−C are promising candidates. However, the activity still needs to be boosted, and the origination of spin-related oxygen catalytic performance is still uncertain. Herein, an effective strategy to regulate local spin state of Fe−N−C through manipulating crystal field and magnetic field is proposed. The spin state of atomic Fe can be regulated from low spin to intermediate spin and to high spin. The cavitation of d_xz and d_yz orbitals of high spin Fe^III can optimize the O₂ adsorption and promote the rate-determining step (*O₂ to *OOH). Benefiting from these merits, the high spin Fe−N−C electrocatalyst displays the highest oxygen electrocatalytic activities. Furthermore, the high spin Fe−N−C-based rechargeable zinc-air battery displays a high power density of 170 mW cm⁻² and good stability.     

Ruthenium-modified porous NiCo2O4 nanosheets boost overall water splitting in alkaline solution

Exploring efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts is crucial for developing water splitting devices. The composition and structure of catalysts are of great importance for catalytic performance. In this work, a heterogeneous Ru modified strategy is engineered to improve the catalytic performance of porous NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets (NSs). Profiting from favorable elements composition and optimized structure property of decreased charge transfer barrier, more accessible active sites and increased oxygen vacancy concentration, the Ru-NiCo₂O₄ NSs exhibits excellent OER activity with a low overpotential of 230 mV to reach the current density of 10 mA/cm² and decent durability. Furthermore, Ru-NiCo₂O₄ NSs show superior HER activity than the pristine NiCo₂O₄ NSs, as well. When assembling Ru-NiCo₂O₄ NSs couple as an alkaline water electrolyzer, a cell voltage of 1.60 V can deliver the current density of 10 mA/cm². This work provides feasible guidance for improving the catalytic performance of spinel-based oxides.     

脊椎状NiCo2O4纳米棒的制备及其析氧和氧还原性能研究

以水热法并进一步焙烧合成脊椎状NiCo₂O₄纳米棒,通过透射电子显微镜（TEM）、X射线衍射仪（XRD）、X射线光电子能谱仪（XPS）和热重分析仪（TG）等来表征其结构形态及热稳定性.采用线性扫描法（LSV）、循环伏安（CV）研究所制备催化剂的在玻碳和旋转圆盘电极上的电催化活性：在0.1 mol·L^-1 KOH溶液中的电催化析氧反应（OER）和电催化氧还原反应（ORR）.研究结果表明,所制备的脊椎状NiCo₂O₄纳米棒有大量的不饱和态,200℃焙烧制备的脊椎状NiCo₂O₄纳米棒析氧过电位最小可达309 mV,Tafel斜率145.6 mV/dec,其氧还原极限电流密度在1600 rmp可达到5.095 mA·cm^-2,电子转移数在3.2~3.8之间,接近四电子转移机理,其优良电化学性能可能是由于暴露了更多的边缘缺陷的缘故.     

Carbon Dots Integrated NiCo2O4 Hierarchical Nanoneedle Arrays Supported on Ni Foam as Efficient and Stable Electrode for Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution Reactions

The production of hydrogen and oxygen via water electrolysis has become a sustainable and encouraging pathway for the establishment of new energy sources. Herein, we report the successful growth of hierarchical NiCo₂O₄‐carbon dots (CDs) nanoneedle arrays supported on nickel foam through a simple and environmentally benign hydrothermal self‐assembly technique. The designed material acts as a binder free electrode and shows bifunctional electrocatalytic activity for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) as well as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline medium. An electrocatalyst sample with an optimal loading of CDs (25 mg) requires a low overpotential of 146 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA/cm² for the HER in an alkaline medium, whereas it requires an overpotential of 390 mV to achieve a current density of 50 mA/cm² for the OER in the same alkaline medium. The excellent electrocatalytic activities of the sample with loading of CD can be ascribed due to the presence of large number of exposed active sites offered by CD/NiCo₂O₄ and the enhanced electron transfer processes occurring as a result of hierarchical structure composed of three‐dimensional nickel foam and the NiCo₂O₄?CDs nanoneedle arrays. Thus, the synthesis method introduced in this present work is a facile and cost‐effective approach for the construction of bifunctional electrocatalysts with high reactivity and excellent durability.     

Facilely Tuning Porous NiCo2O4 Nanosheets with Metal Valence‐State Alteration and Abundant Oxygen Vacancies as Robust Electrocatalysts Towards Water Splitting

Great efforts in developing clean electrochemical water splitting technology leads to the rational design and synthesis of highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with low overpotential and fast reaction kinetics. Herein, we focus on the role that morphology and composition play in the OER performance to rationally design freestanding 3D porous NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets with metal valence states alteration and abundant oxygen vacancies as robust electrocatalysts towards water splitting. Besides metal valence‐state alteration, surface modification regarding the evolution of oxygen vacancies is facilely realized upon the sodium borohydride treatment, which is beneficial for the enhanced OER performance. Taking advantage of the porous nanostructures and abundant surface activity sites with high reactivity, the resultant nanostructures exhibit excellent OER activity and stability in alkaline electrolytes that outperform that of pristine NiCo₂O₄ and commercial RuO₂, thus holding great potential for the water splitting.     

A Microwave Synthesis of Mesoporous NiCo2O4 Nanosheets as Electrode Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries and Supercapacitors

A facile microwave method was employed to synthesize NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets as electrode materials for lithium‐ion batteries and supercapacitors. The structure and morphology of the materials were characterized by X‐ray diffraction, field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller methods. Owing to the porous nanosheet structure, the NiCo₂O₄ electrodes exhibited a high reversible capacity of 891 mA h g^?1 at a current density of 100 mA g^?1, good rate capability and stable cycling performance. When used as electrode materials for supercapacitors, NiCo₂O₄ nanosheets demonstrated a specific capacitance of 400 F g^?1 at a current density of 20 A g^?1 and superior cycling stability over 5000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance could be ascribed to the thin porous structure of the nanosheets, which provides a high specific surface area to increase the electrode–electrolyte contact area and facilitate rapid ion transport.     

Advanced Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Electrocatalyst Derived from Surface-Mounted Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives are considered as promising catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which are important for many energy provision technologies, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells and some types of advanced batteries. In this work, a “strain modulation” approach has been applied through the use of surface-mounted NiFe-MOFs in order to design an advanced bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalyst. The material exhibits an excellent OER activity in alkaline media, reaching an industrially relevant current density of 200 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential of only ≈210 mV. It demonstrates operational long-term stability even at a high current density of 500 mA cm⁻² and exhibits the so far narrowest “overpotential window” ΔE_ORR-OER of 0.69 V in 0.1 m KOH with a mass loading being two orders of magnitude lower than that of benchmark electrocatalysts.     

FeOOH Nanocubes Anchored on Carbon Ribbons for Use in Li/O2 Batteries

A composite of FeOOH nanocubes anchored on carbon ribbons has been synthesized and used as a cathode material for Li/O₂ batteries. Fe²⁺ ion-exchanged resin serves as a precursor for both FeOOH nanocubes and carbon ribbons, which are formed simultaneously. The as-prepared FeOOH cubes are proposed to have a core–shell structure, with FeOOH as the shell and Prussian blue as the core, based on information from XPS, TEM, and EDS mapping. As a cathode material for Li/O₂ batteries, FeOOH delivers a specific capacity of 14816 mA h g⁻¹_cathode with a cycling stability of 67 cycles over 400 h. The high performance is related to the low overpotential of the oxygen reduction/evolution reaction on FeOOH. The cube structure, the supporting carbon ribbons, and the -OOH moieties all contribute to the low overpotential. The discharge product Li₂O₂ can be efficiently decomposed in the FeOOH cathode after a charging process, leading to higher cycling stability. Its high activity and stability make FeOOH a good candidate for use in non-aqueous Li/O₂ batteries.     

Advanced Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Electrocatalyst Derived from Surface‐Mounted Metal–Organic Frameworks

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) and their derivatives are considered as promising catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which are important for many energy provision technologies, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells and some types of advanced batteries. In this work, a “strain modulation” approach has been applied through the use of surface‐mounted NiFe‐MOFs in order to design an advanced bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalyst. The material exhibits an excellent OER activity in alkaline media, reaching an industrially relevant current density of 200 mA cm^?2 at an overpotential of only ≈210 mV. It demonstrates operational long‐term stability even at a high current density of 500 mA cm^?2 and exhibits the so far narrowest “overpotential window” ΔE_ORR‐OER of 0.69 V in 0.1 m KOH with a mass loading being two orders of magnitude lower than that of benchmark electrocatalysts.     

Low charge overpotentials and extended full cycling capability in lithium-oxygen batteries by controlling the nature of discharge products

Hollow NiCo₂O₄ microspheres with a highly hierarchical porous structure were synthesized and conducted as catalysts for lithium-oxygen batteries. The influence of NiCo₂O₄ on the discharge products was investigated. The NiCo₂O₄ showed the capability to promote the formation of lithium deficient Li_2 − xO₂ and exerted a significant influence on the electrochemical performance of lithium-oxygen batteries with a low charge overpotential and extended full cycling over 50 cycles.     

Hybrid nanonet/nanoflake NiCo2O4 electrodes with an ultrahigh surface area for supercapacitors

An integrated electrode consisting of hybrid nanonet/nanoflake NiCo₂O₄ grown on stainless steel mesh substrates exhibits a high specific capacitance while maintaining high-rate capability and good cycling stability. The specific capacitance reaches a maximum of 911 F g^?1 at a current density of 10 A g^?1, which can still retain 864 F g^?1 (94.8 % retention) after 10,000 cycles. These much-improved electrochemical performances are attributed to the unique architecture of NiCo₂O₄ electrode. The interconnected nanonet NiCo₂O₄ with an ultrahigh surface area significantly facilitates the rapid ion/electron transport and guarantees good mechanical adhesion, while the ultrathin nanoflakes further extend the active sites for fast redox reactions for efficient energy storage. Figure

Hybrid nanonet/nanoflake NiCo₂O₄ grown on stainless steel mesh exhibits superior capacitive performance and long-life stability as an integrated electrode for high-performance supercapacitors.     

Hierarchical NiCo2O4 Hollow Microcuboids as Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Overall Water‐Splitting

Bifunctional electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolyte may improve the efficiency of overall water splitting. Nickel cobaltite (NiCo₂O₄) has been considered a promising electrode material for the OER. However, NiCo₂O₄ that can be used as an electrocatalyst in HER has not been studied yet. Herein, we report self‐assembled hierarchical NiCo₂O₄ hollow microcuboids for overall water splitting including both the HER and OER reactions. The NiCo₂O₄ electrode shows excellent activity toward overall water splitting, with 10 mA cm^?2 water‐splitting current reached by applying just 1.65 V and 20 mA cm^?2 by applying just 1.74 V across the two electrodes. The synthesis of NiCo₂O₄ microflowers confirms the importance of structural features for high‐performance overall water splitting.     

负载硫化钴纳米颗粒的N、S共掺杂石墨烯氧还原电催化剂的制备及性能

采用D-氨基葡萄糖作为Co分散剂和碳源,硫脲作为氮源和硫源,以NaCl为模板制备负载硫化钴纳米颗粒的N、S共掺杂三维石墨烯氧还原电催化剂(CoS/N/S/rGO)。CoS/N/S/rGO具有良好的氧还原反应(ORR)活性,起始电位和半波电位分别为960和815 mV,性能与商业Pt/C相当。此外,CoS/N/S/rGO表现出明显的4电子转移特性和超低的过氧化氢产率。与基于Pt/C的锌-空气电池相比,基于CoS/N/S/rGO的锌-空气电池在6 mol·L~(-1) KOH和0.2 mol~(-1) Zn(CH_3COO)_2碱性电解质中显示出更高的恒电流放电性能以及更好的稳定性。     

Activating surface atoms of high entropy oxides for enhancing oxygen evolution reaction

High entropy oxides (HEOs) have attracted extensive attention of researchers due to their remarkable properties. The electrocatalytic activity of electrocatalysts is closely related to the reactivity of their surface atoms which usually shows a positive correlation. Excellenet stability of HEOs leads to their surface atoms with relative poor reactivity, limiting the applications for electrocatalysis. Therefore, it is significant to activate surface atoms of HEOs. Constructing amorphous structure, introducing oxygen defects and leaching are very effective strategies to improve the reactivity of surface atoms. Herein, to remove chemical inert, low-crystallinity (Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, Zn)₃O₄ (HEO-Origin) nanosheets with abundant oxygen vacancies was synthesized, showing an excellent catalytic activity with an overpotential of 265 mV at 10 mA/cm², which outperforms as-synthesized HEO-500°C-air (335 mV). The excellent catalytic performance of HEO-Origin can be attributed to high activity surface atoms, the introduction of oxygen defects efficiently altered electron distribution on the surface of HEO-Origin. Apart from, HEO-Origin also exhibits an outstanding electrochemical stability for oxygen evolution reaction (OER).     

Flower-like NiCo2S4/NiFeP/NF composite material as an effective electrocatalyst with high overall water splitting performance

Rational design and building of high efficiency, secure and inexpensive electrocatalyst is a pressing demand and performance to promote sustainable improvement of hydrogen energy. The bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution response (HER) with high catalytic performance and steadiness in the equal electrolyte are extra treasured and meaningful. Herein, a unique three-dimensional (3D) structure electrocatalyst for NiCo₂S₄ growing on the flower-like NiFeP was designed and synthesized in this study. The results show that the flower-like NiCo₂S₄/NiFeP/NF composite electrocatalyst has large specific surface area, appropriate electrical conductivity, and greater lively websites uncovered in the three-dimensional structure, and affords extraordinary electrocatalytic overall performance for the ordinary water splitting. In alkaline solution, the OER and HER overpotentials of NiCo₂S₄/NiFeP/NF only need 293 mV and 205 mV overpotential to provide the current densities of 100 mA/cm² and 50 mA/cm², respectively. This high electrocatalytic activity exceeds the catalytic activity of most nickel-iron based electrocatalysts for OER and HER process. Accordingly, the optimized NiCo₂S₄/NiFeP/NF sample has higher stability (24 h) at 1.560 and 10 mA/cm², which extensively speeds up the overall water splitting process. In view of the above performance, this work offers a fine approach for the further improvement of low fee and excessive effectivity electrocatalyst.     

Synthesis of silk-like FeS2/NiS2 hybrid nanocrystals with improved reversible oxygen catalytic performance in a Zn-air battery

The development of highly active and stable reversible oxygen electrocatalysts is crucial for improving the efficiency of metal-air battery devices. Herein, an efficient liquid exfoliation strategy was designed for producing silk-like FeS₂/NiS₂ hybrid nanocrystals with enhanced reversible oxygen catalytic performance that displayed excellent properties for Zn-air batteries. Because of the unique silk-like morphology and interface nanocrystal structure, they can catalyze the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) efficiently with a low overpotential of 233 mV at j = 10 mA cm^?2. This is an improvement from the recently reported catalysts in 1.0 M KOH. Meanwhile, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of the silk-like FeS₂/NiS₂ hybrid nanocrystals showed an onset potential of 911 mV and a half-wave potential of 640 mV. In addition, the reversible oxygen electrode activity of the silk-like FeS₂/NiS₂ hybrid nanocrystals was calculated to be 0.823 V, based on the potential of the OER and ORR. Further, the homemade rechargeable Zn-air batteries using FeS₂/NiS₂ hybrid nanocrystals as the air-cathode displayed a high open-circuit voltage of 1.25 V for more than 17 h and an excellent rechargeable performance for 25 h. The solid Zn-air batteries exhibited an excellent rechargeable performance for 15 h. This study provided a new method for designing interface nanocrystals with a unique morphology for efficient multifunctional electrocatalysts in electrochemical reactions and renewable energy devices.     

Ni/NiCo2O4电极的制备及其析氧反应性能

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备NiCo₂O₄尖晶石粉体, 然后以多孔Ni 为基体, 通过复合溶胶涂覆结合烧结制备Ni/NiCo₂O₄ 涂层电极. 运用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、能量色散谱(EDS)和X 射线衍射(XRD)表征粉体以及Ni/NiCo₂O₄涂层电极的组成和结构. 采用循环伏安(CV), 稳态极化(LSV), 电化学阻抗谱(EIS), 恒电位阶跃以及恒电位长时间电解研究涂层电极在5 mol·L^-1 KOH溶液中的电催化析氧反应(OER). 结果表明: Ni/NiCo₂O₄涂层电极与多孔Ni 电极对比, 具有低的析氧过电位、高的比表面积和高的稳定性能; 其中比表面积增大了28.69倍,表观活化能在不同过电位分别降低了166.78和162.15 kJ·mol^-1.     

Synthesis and electrochemical evaluation of La<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Sr<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> catalysts for zinc-air batteries

La_1-x Sr _x MnO₃ (x?=?0.1～0.4) catalysts for primary and rechargeable zinc-air batteries have been successfully synthesized by the citrate method and their electrochemical properties measured. The materials can catalyze both ORR and OER, and the one with ideal composition of La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ catalyst exhibits the highest catalytic activity and durability in alkaline medium. The resulting primary zinc-air cell shows a peak power density of 146 mW cm^?2 at 235 mA cm^?2. The secondary cell exhibits a charge-discharge voltage gap of 1.0 V at 10 mA cm^?2, which is highly stable over many charge-discharge cycles.     

Hierarchical NiCo2S4 Nanotube@NiCo2S4 Nanosheet Arrays on Ni Foam for High‐Performance Supercapacitors

Hierarchical NiCo₂S₄ nanotube@NiCo₂S₄ nanosheet arrays on Ni foam have been successfully synthesized. Owing to the unique hierarchical structure, enhanced capacitive performance can be attained. A specific capacitance up to 4.38 F cm^?2 is attained at 5 mA cm^?2, which is much higher than the specific capacitance values of NiCo₂O₄ nanosheet arrays, NiCo₂S₄ nanosheet arrays and NiCo₂S₄ nanotube arrays on Ni foam. The hierarchical NiCo₂S₄ nanostructure shows superior cycling stability; after 5000 cycles, the specific capacitance still maintains 3.5 F cm^?2. In addition, through the morphology and crystal structure measurement after cycling stability test, it is found that the NiCo₂S₄ electroactive materials are gradually corroded; however, the NiCo₂S₄ phase can still be well‐maintained. Our results show that hierarchical NiCo₂S₄ nanostructures are suitable electroactive materials for high performance supercapacitors.     

A Surface‐Oxide‐Rich Activation Layer (SOAL) on Ni2Mo3N for a Rapid and Durable Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is key to renewable energy technologies such as water electrolysis and metal–air batteries. However, the multiple steps associated with proton‐coupled electron transfer result in sluggish OER kinetics and catalysts are required. Here we demonstrate that a novel nitride, Ni₂Mo₃N, is a highly active OER catalyst that outperforms the benchmark material RuO₂. Ni₂Mo₃N exhibits a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 at a nominal overpotential of 270 mV in 0.1 m KOH with outstanding catalytic cyclability and durability. Structural characterization and computational studies reveal that the excellent activity stems from the formation of a surface‐oxide‐rich activation layer (SOAL). Secondary Mo atoms on the surface act as electron pumps that stabilize oxygen‐containing species and facilitate the continuity of the reactions. This discovery will stimulate the further development of ternary nitrides with oxide surface layers as efficient OER catalysts for electrochemical energy devices.