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The effectuation of the Zn–air battery (ZAB) is appealing for active and durable catalysts to kinetically drive the sluggish cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Atomic metal-N x -C sites are widely witnessed with Pt-like activity, but their demetalations still severely restrict the durability in ORR. Here we have profiled an ordered hierarchical porous carbon supported Fe–N 4 single-atom (FeNC) catalyst by a template derivation method for efficient ORR and flexible ZAB studies. The FeNC structure is observed with a sub-polarized graphitic Fe–N 4 coordination with a shortened Fe–N bond for potentially consolidating the ORR, together with the hierarchical porous matrix for kinetical mass transfer. Resultantly, the optimized FeNC catalyst showcases Pt-beyond alkaline ORR activity ( E 1/2 = 0.95 V) with long-term durability for 100 h, delivering the flexible ZAB device with high power density (251 mW cm –2 ) and durable cycle life (80 h). This research underscores the criterion in rationalizing active and robust ORR catalysts through metal–nitrogen bond modulation.
Zhai et al. (Thu,) studied this question.