Mn/Cu nanoclusters-grafted N-doped carbon nanotubes: Robust oxygen electrode catalysts for Zn-air batteries

Abstract Developing efficient nonprecious electrocatalysts that can drive the oxygen electrode reactions in zinc-air batteries (ZABs) is important but remains challenging. In this work, novel materials comprising Mn/Cu nanoclusters-grafted N-doped carbon nanotubes are synthesized by preparing and then pyrolyzing Mn/Cu polyphthalocyanine-encapsulated carbon nanotubes (CNTs), followed by treating the products with acidic solution. The materials are named CNTs@(Mn,Cu)PPc-T, where T denotes the pyrolysis temperature in °C, and they are demonstrated to serve as efficient oxygen electrode catalysts for zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Among them, the one synthesized at 900 °C, CNTs@(Mn,Cu)PPc-900, requires more positive onset and half-wave potentials for reduction of oxygen and a low overpotential for the evolution of oxygen. A rechargeable ZAB assembled with CNTs@(Mn,Cu)PPc-900 electrocatalyst delivers a high power density (158.5 mW cm−2) and displays an excellent stability in 200 cycles of charge/discharge (in over 33 h). Such performance is even superior to that of a ZAB containing the benchmark Pt/C + RuO2 catalyst as an air cathode under identical testing condition.