Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction and Zinc-Air Batteries
This community develops catalysts that accelerate the oxygen reduction and evolution reactions required for rechargeable zinc-air batteries and fuel cells.
The work focuses on designing bifunctional electrocatalysts that operate efficiently in both discharge and charge cycles. Recurring materials include nitrogen-doped porous carbon, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, often functionalized with single-atom or dual-atom sites of earth-abundant metals such as iron, cobalt, and nickel. Specific chemical motifs like Fe-N-C structures and high-entropy alloys are central to the research. The primary application is the development of high-performance, rechargeable zinc-air batteries and fuel cells, with a strong emphasis on enhancing reaction kinetics and catalyst stability.
The community is most prominent in oxygen research, accounting for 2.8% of all tracked oxygen papers, and in carbon research, representing 1.4% of that element's literature. It also contributes 1.4% of zinc research, which corresponds to 4,053 papers within this group.
The community comprises 21,042 papers, primarily published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, and Electrochimica Acta.
Recent work continues to refine single-atom and dual-atom catalysts, with specific focus on tuning coordination environments and utilizing machine learning to guide the design of M-N-C structures for superior oxygen reduction performance.