1. College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Inorganic Nonmetallic Crystalline and Energy Conversion Materials, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China 2. State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China 3. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Hubei Key Laboratory for New Textile Materials and Applications, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, China 4. Hubei Three Gorges Laboratory, Yichang 443007, China 5. College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310032, China 6. College of Light-Textile Engineering and Art, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China 7. School of Pharmacy, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261053, China 8. Key Laboratory of Textile Fiber and Products (Wuhan Textile University), Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430200, China
Fe–Nx nanoparticles-embedded porous carbons with a desirable superstructure have attracted immense attention as promising catalysts for electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction. Herein, we employed Fe-coordinated covalent triazine polymer for the fabrication of Fe–Nx nanoparticle-embedded porous carbon nanoflorets (Fe/N@CNFs) employing a hypersaline-confinement-conversion strategy. Presence of tailored N types within the covalent triazine polymer interwork in high proportions contributes to the generation of Fe/N coordination and subsequent Fe–Nx nanoparticles. Owing to the utilization of NaCl crystals, the resultant Fe/N@CNF-800 which was generated by pyrolysis at 800 °C showed nanoflower structure and large specific surface area, which remarkably suppressed the agglomeration of high catalytic active sites. As expect, the Fe/N@CNF-800 exhibited unexpected oxygen reduction reaction catalytic performance with an ultrahigh half-wave potential (0.89 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode), a dominant 4e– transfer approach and great cycle stability (> 92% after 100000 s). As a demonstration, the Fe/N-PCNF-800-assembled zinc–air battery delivered a high open circuit voltage of 1.51 V, a maximum peak power density of 164 mW·cm–2, as well as eminent rate performance, surpassing those of commercial Pt/C. This contribution offers a valuable avenue to exploit efficient metal nanoparticles-based carbon catalysts towards energy-related electrocatalytic reactions and beyond.
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