Ultrathin B, N co-doped porous carbon nanosheets derived from intumescent flame retardant for rechargeable Zn-air battery

• Published in: Journal of power sources Vol. 493; p. 229665
• Main Authors: Kang, Yumao, Wang, Wei, Li, Jinmei, Imhanria, Sarah, Hao, Yaxin, Lei, Ziqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.05.2021
• Subjects: B, N co-doping; Oxygen evolution reaction; Oxygen reduction reaction; Porous carbon nanosheets; Zn-air battery; Zn-air battery; Oxygen evolution reaction; Porous carbon nanosheets; B, N co-doping; Oxygen reduction reaction
• ISSN: 0378-7753; 1873-2755
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2021.229665

Engineering highly efficient and robust porous carbon materials for the oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions (ORR/OER) remains a great challenge for boosting the practical application of metal-air batteries. Herein, we report a carbonization-etching approach to achieve ultrathin B, N co-doped porous carbon nanosheets (BN–PCN) with hierarchically porous structure and large specific surface area (966.46 m2 g−1) using intumescent flame retardant (IFR) system. Owing to its unique structural features, the BN-PCN delivers high electrocatalytic ORR activity with a comparable half-wave potential of 0.84 V and superior stability to those of commercial Pt/C. Moreover, the BN-PCN exhibits a smaller overpotential for OER in comparison with singly doped counterparts, suggesting that the structural properties of BN-PCN play important roles in imparting the electrocatalytic activities of ORR and OER. Furthermore, BN-PCN-driven Zn-air battery demonstrates excellent power density (193.6 mW cm−2) and high energy efficiency. This study offers a promising avenue for designing multiple heteroatom-doped porous carbon materials for clean energy conversion and storage applications. [Display omitted] •Ultrathin BN-PCN is synthesized by intumescent flame retardant system.•BN-PCN possesses hierarchically porous structure and large surface area.•BN-PCN exhibits enhanced performance toward ORR and OER.•A Zn-air battery with BN-PCN shows excellent power density.