SOLVENT-FREE SYNTHESIS OF COBALT SINGLE-ATOM ENCAPSULATED IN NITROGEN-DOPED CARBON FOAM AS BIFUNCTIONAL-CATALYST FOR RECHARGEABLE ZN-AIR BATTERIES

• Main Author: Bela Persada, Pilar
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/74014
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

<p align="justify">Designing and developing affordable, high-performance, and stable bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is decisive for pragmatic rechargeable Zn-air batteries. This work reports cobalt nanoparticles encapsulated in nitrogen-doped carbon foam as a promising bifunctional electrocatalyst for alkaline ORR and OER. The Co/N/C catalyst was synthesized using the solvent-free method as a green and sustainable chemical process, with many advantage characteristics, such as high-yielding systems, minimal energy and time requirement, low cost, and lesser waste. Herein, the developed catalyst comprises nanoparticle cobalt encapsulated in an N-doped carbon foam matrix with abundant porous and defective structure in the form of flakes with bubble texture morphology. These characteristics lead to remarkable oxygen electrocatalytic activities with an onset potential of +0.9 V vs. RHE, which is comparable to that of commercial Pt/C for the ORR, and a lower overpotential of 363 mV than Ir/C at 10 mA cm?2 for the OER. When used as a breathing air electrode for Zn–air batteries, Co/N/C shows a higher discharge power density (184 mW cm?2 ) and better charge–discharge reversibility than commercial Pt/C-Ir/C. This work sheds light on the potential for using the solvent-free method to obtain cobalt nanoparticles encapsulated in nitrogen-doped carbon foam as a bifunctional catalyst for rechargeable Zn-air batteries.