Ultrahigh‐Loading Zinc Single‐Atom Catalyst for Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction in Both Acidic and Alkaline Media

Abstract Atomically dispersed Zn–N–C nanomaterials are promising platinum‐free catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the fabrication of Zn–N–C catalysts with a high Zn loading remains a formidable challenge owing to the high volatility of the Zn precursor during high‐temperature annealing. Herein, we report that an atomically dispersed Zn–N–C catalyst with an ultrahigh Zn loading of 9.33 wt % could be successfully prepared by simply adopting a very low annealing rate of 1° min −1 . The Zn–N–C catalyst exhibited comparable ORR activity to that of Fe–N–C catalysts, and significantly better ORR stability than Fe–N–C catalysts in both acidic and alkaline media. Further experiments and DFT…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 91534205, 21776023, 21436003, 21576031, 21761162015