Co/CoO hetero-nanoparticles incorporated into lignin-derived carbon nanofibers as a self-supported bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst for rechargeable Zn-air batteries.

The large-scale application of rechargeable Zn-air batteries (ZABs) necessitates the development of high-efficiency and cost-effective bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, the density functional theory calculations were performed to reveal the charge redistribution induced by the Co/CoO heterojunction integrating with N-doped carbon, which could optimize the d-band center, thereby accelerating O transformed into OOH* in the ORR and the conversion of O* into OOH* in OER. Guided by theoretical calculations, Co/CoO hetero-nanoparticles-decorated lignin-derived N-doped porous carbon nanofibers (Co-LCFs-800) were synthesized to use as an advanced self-supported bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst.

Main Group SnNO Single Sites with Optimized Charge Distribution for Boosting the Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Transition metal single-atom catalysts (SACs) have been regarded as possible alternatives to platinum-based materials due to their satisfactory performance of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). By contrast, main-group metal elements are rarely studied due to their unfavorable surface and electronic states. Herein, a main-group Sn-based SAC with penta-coordinated and asymmetric first-shell ligands is reported as an efficient and robust ORR catalyst.

Enhancing conversion of polysulfides via porous carbon nanofiber interlayer with dual-active sites for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are promising candidates for next-generation energy storage. However, the notorious lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) shuttle effect and torpid redox kinetics hinder their practical application. Enhancing phase conversion efficiency and limiting the dissolution of LiPSs are critical for stabilizing Li-S batteries.