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  • Dynamic electrocatalyst wit...
    Deng, Ya-Ping; Jiang, Yi; Liang, Ruilin; Zhang, Shao-Jian; Luo, Dan; Hu, Yongfeng; Wang, Xin; Li, Jun-Tao; Yu, Aiping; Chen, Zhongwei

    Nature communications, 04/2020, Volume: 11, Issue: 1
    Journal Article

    Recent fruitful studies on rechargeable zinc-air battery have led to emergence of various bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts, especially metal-based materials. However, their electrocatalytic configuration and evolution pathway during battery operation are rarely spotlighted. Herein, to depict the underlying behaviors, a concept named dynamic electrocatalyst is proposed. By selecting a bimetal nitride as representation, a current-driven "shell-bulk" configuration is visualized via time-resolved X-ray and electron spectroscopy analyses. A dynamic picture sketching the generation and maturation of nanoscale oxyhydroxide shell is presented, and periodic valence swings of performance-dominant element are observed. Upon maturation, zinc-air battery experiences a near two-fold enlargement in power density to 234 mW cm , a gradual narrowing of voltage gap to 0.85 V at 30 mA cm , followed by stable cycling for hundreds of hours. The revealed configuration can serve as the basis to construct future blueprints for metal-based electrocatalysts, and push zinc-air battery toward practical application.