Ten thousand hour stable zinc air batteries via Fe and W dual atom sites

Yifan Li, Hanlin Wang, Chang Chen, Xuesong Xie, Yang Yang, Xuehai Tan, Keren Jiang, Ning Chen, Hao Zhang () and Zhi Li ()
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Yifan Li: University of Alberta
Hanlin Wang: University of Alberta
Chang Chen: Tsinghua University
Xuesong Xie: University of Alberta
Yang Yang: University of Alberta
Xuehai Tan: University of Alberta
Keren Jiang: University of Alberta
Ning Chen: Canadian Light Source Saskatoon
Hao Zhang: University of Alberta
Zhi Li: University of Alberta

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Durable and highly active oxygen electrocatalysts are crucial to the large-scale application of rechargeable zinc-air batteries. Here we utilize the N4 unit in phthalocyanine molecule to trap the tungsten atoms scratched off from the tungsten carbide milling balls and place the obtained W-N4 unit adjacent to the Fe-N4 units from iron (Ⅱ) phthalocyanine, resulting in highly active Fe-N4/W-N4 diatomic sites with well-pronounced 3d−5d hybrid for efficient and durable oxygen electrocatalysis. The electron distribution of the Fe-N4 site is optimized by the neighboring W-N4 site, which facilitates the O2 activation and the desorption of *OH and enhances the catalytic activity of the Fe-N4 site. Meanwhile, the unsaturated 5 d orbitals and tunable valence of the W atoms could modulate the electronic state of the Fe species, prevent leaching, and further enhance the catalytic stability. The resulting zinc-air battery with Fe,W-N-C air cathode exhibits notable cycling stability and repeatability for over 10,000 h. This enhanced stability highlights the possibility of developing 5 d metal-boosted 3 d metal active sites for the fabrication of efficient oxygen electrocatalysts and stable zinc-air batteries.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63540-w

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