Surface Engineering of Perovskites for Rechargeable Zinc–Air Battery Application

Abstract

The ABO3−δ-type perovskite oxides are highly desirable electrocatalysts with interesting surface structures that could be modified to bring out their excellent catalytic performance. The La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ (LSC) perovskite is one among the classes which is easy to fabricate, cost-effective, and scalable. Defect engineering by sintering and interface engineering by in situ surface modification are employed to positively transform the LSC perovskite electrode, that is, by sintering at a high temperature, phase-pure LSC is obtained with induced changes such as improved conductivity, crystal defects, and oxygen vacancies. By chemically modifying the surface of this LSC using highly catalytically active NiFe layered double hydroxide (LDH), excellent bifunctionality is achieved. For the latter, an optimized molar ratio of NiFe LDH (25%) is integrated onto the phase-pure LSC surface by a simple wet-chemical process. The phase purity and bifunctionality of the prepared composite are verified by various physical characterizations and redox processes. The surface-modified LSC/LDH (75/25) cathode demonstrates superior oxygen reduction and evolution reaction performances that are better than those of the native LSC with a low overall overpotential of 0.71 V at 5 mA cm–2 in alkaline media. The same cathode when applied in a zinc–air battery exhibits a stable cycle performance with a reduced charge–discharge potential gap of 0.73 V at 5 mA cm–2 for 100 cycles in alkaline media. Additionally, LSC/LDH (75/25) also ensures long-term performance with remarkable stability.

High energy storage capabilities of CaCu3Ti4O12 for paper-based zinc–air battery

“…The ORR-OER reactions are the primary electrochemical processes that regulate various electrochemistry-based applications like energy conversion and storage devices 15 . Until recently, platinum (Pt) and platinum alloys have been identified as the most effective ORR catalysts, although they exhibit weak OER performance 16 – 19 .…”

Structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of solution combustion synthesized LaFeO3, LaFe0.9Mn0.1O3, and LaMnO3 perovskites

“…Perovskites have emerged as an important new class of functional materials in the mixed oxide family owing to their stable crystal structure, oxide ion mobility through the crystal lattice, oxygen vacancy, good thermal stability, and chemical stability. In recent years, they have received substantial attention for potential applications in catalysis, [1][2][3] photocatalysis, 4 electrocatalysis, 5 photoelectrocatalysis, 4 fuel cell electrodes, 2,6 supercapacitors, 6 metal-air batteries, 7 magnetic memory devices, 8 high density data storage devices, 9 solar cells, 2,6,10 sensors, 2 and separation membranes. 11 They have a common formula of ABO 3 where A and B are two cations and O is an anion.…”

Recent advances of bifunctional catalysts for zinc air batteries with stability considerations: from selecting materials to reconstruction

“…23). 91,100,105,106,128,130,131,133–135,141,144,148,187,189,192,194,198,212,214,216,225,226,240,242,246,248,253–255,257,258,263,267,287,289,290,295,308,314,322,329–385…”