Large-Scale Nanofiber Manufacturing| Constructing Stable Bifunctional Electrocatalyst ofCo-CozNbsO14 with Reversible Interface Reconstitution Abilityfor Sustainable Zn-Air Batteries

Prof. Yan Jianhua at Donghua University Adv. Sci. (IF 14.3): Co─Co₂Nb₅O₁₄ Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Sustainable Zn-Air Batteries

Challenge: Transition metal/metal oxide heterojunctions as bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalysts for Zn-Air batteries have been widely studied, but dynamic changes at interfaces during catalysis remain unclear.

Method: Prof. Yan Jianhua’s team prepared flexible Co─Co₂Nb₅O₁₄₋ₓ@PCNF films via sol-gel electrospinning, followed by pre-oxidation and carbonization in H₂/Ar atmosphere, developing a Co─Co₂Nb₅O₁₄ bifunctional electrocatalyst.

Innovation 1: The SMSI interface promotes dynamic electron transfer between Co/Co₂Nb₅O₁₄, while reversible Nb⁴⁺/Nb⁵⁺ active sites enable bidirectional adsorption/migration of intermediates, achieving dynamic reversible interface reconstruction.

Innovation 2: The catalyst exhibits a high ORR half-wave potential (0.84 V), low OER overpotential (296.3 mV), and >30,000 s cycling stability. The Zn-Air battery delivers a high capacity of 850.6 mAh·gZn⁻¹ and operates stably for 2,050 cycles at 10 mA·cm⁻².