Molecularly Thin Nitride Sheets Stabilized by Titanium Carbide as Efficient Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Fiber-Shaped Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries.

ABSTRACT

With the ever-increasing growth in next-generation flexible and wearable electronics, fiber-shaped zinc-air batteries have attracted considerable attention due to their advantages of high energy density and low cost, though their development, however, has been seriously hampered by the unavailability of efficient electrocatalysts. In this work, we designed a trimetallic nitride electrocatalyst in an unusual molecular sheet form, which was stabilized by metallic titanium carbide sheets. Besides the expected elevation in catalytic activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction, the material simultaneously unlocked excellent catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction with the half-wave potential as small as 0.84 V. A flexible fiber-shaped zinc-air battery, employing the designed electrocatalyst as the air cathode and a gel as the electrolyte, demonstrated an enhanced and durable electrochemical performance, outputting a competitive energy density of 627 Wh kgzn-1. This work opens new avenues for utilizing two-dimensional sheets in future wearable and portable device applications.