Electrospun N-doped carbon nanofibers decorated with Fe₃C nanoparticles as highly active oxygen reduction electrocatalysts for rechargeable Zn–air batteries

Slow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetic at the cathode side of Zn-air batteries seriously hinder its large-scale applications. Here, dicyandiamide (DCD) was used to synthesis high specific surface area ORR electrocatalysts by electrospun. The as-synthesized Fe₃C nanoparticles decorated N-doped carbon nanofibers exhibit comparable performance to commercial Pt/C catalysts. Rechargeable Zn–air batteries with the catalyst exhibits higher power density and cycling stability compared to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. This work has demonstrated a new way to prepare highly efficient and stable ORR electrocatalysts for rechargeable Zn-air batteries.