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Engineering active sites of cathodic materials for high-performance Zn-nitrogen batteries

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Abstract

As an ideal carbon-free energy carrier, ammonia plays an indispensable role in modern society. The conventional industrial synthesis of NH3 by the Haber-Bosch technique under harsh reaction conditions results in serious energy consumption and environmental pollution. Therefore, it is essential to develop NH3 synthesis tactics under benign conditions. Electrochemical synthesis of NH3 has the advantages of mild reaction conditions and environmental friendliness, and has become a hotspot for research in recent years. It has been reported that zinc-nitrogen batteries (ZNBs), such as Zn-N2, Zn-NO, Zn-NO3−, and Zn-NO2− batteries, can not only reduce nitrogenous species to ammonia but also have concomitant power output. However, the common drawbacks of these battery systems are unsatisfactory power density and ammonia production. In this review, the latest progress of ZNBs including the reaction mechanism of the battery and reactor design principles is systematically summarized. Subsequently, active site engineering of cathode catalysts is discussed, including vacancy defects, chemical doping, and heterostructure engineering. Finally, some insights are provided to improve the performance of ZNBs from a practical perspective of view.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 22075211, 22109118, 22275166, 21601136, and 51971157), Tianjin Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 19JCJQJC61800), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (Nos. JCYJ20210324123202008, JCYJ20210324115412035, and ZDSYS20210813095534001), and Guangdong Foundation for Basic and Applied Basic Research Program (No. 2021A1515110880).

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  1. Institute for New Energy Materials and Low-Carbon Technologies, Tianjin Key Lab for Photoelectric Materials & Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, 300384, China

    Shanshan Chen, Kang Lian, Gaocan Qi & Jun Luo

  2. State Key Laboratory of Featured Metal Materials and Life-cycle Safety for Composite Structures, School of Resource, Environments and Materials, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China

    Shanshan Chen & Xijun Liu

  3. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310014, China

    Wenxian Liu

  4. Institute for Advanced Study, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, China

    Qian Liu

  5. ShenSi Lab, Shenzhen Institute for Advanced Study, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen, 518110, China

    Jun Luo

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Correspondence to Wenxian Liu, Gaocan Qi or Xijun Liu.

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Chen, S., Lian, K., Liu, W. et al. Engineering active sites of cathodic materials for high-performance Zn-nitrogen batteries. Nano Res. 16, 9214–9230 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5798-4

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