Data-driven evolution of next-generation Zn-air batteries

Data-driven insights provide invaluable guidance in the pursuit of novel materials and structures for enhancing battery performance in a highly efficient manner. In a recent milestone publication in Joule, Zhang and co-workers harness data-driven analyses of 247 reported bifunctional electrocatalysts to unveil an unprecedendrivted composite Fe-N-C dispersed NiFeCe layered double hydroxide (FeNC@LDH) oxygen electrocatalyst. This breakthrough achieves a record-breaking electrocatalytic activity with a remarkable ΔE of 0.57 V, greatly surpassing the state-of-the-art levels by ca. 60 mV. This remarkable achievement not only sets a new benchmark in bifunctional electrocatalysis but also signifies a paradigm shift in advanced catalyst research methodologies. Data-driven insights provide invaluable guidance in the pursuit of novel materials and structures for enhancing battery performance in a highly efficient manner. In a recent milestone publication in Joule, Zhang and co-workers harness data-driven analyses of 247 reported bifunctional electrocatalysts to unveil an unprecedendrivted composite Fe-N-C dispersed NiFeCe layered double hydroxide (FeNC@LDH) oxygen electrocatalyst. This breakthrough achieves a record-breaking electrocatalytic activity with a remarkable ΔE of 0.57 V, greatly surpassing the state-of-the-art levels by ca. 60 mV. This remarkable achievement not only sets a new benchmark in bifunctional electrocatalysis but also signifies a paradigm shift in advanced catalyst research methodologies. A data-driven bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst with a record-breaking ΔE = 0.57 V for ampere-hour-scale zinc-air batteriesLiu et al.JouleApril 15, 2024In BriefRefreshing the record of bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic activity has been regarded as the first priority to develop rechargeable zinc-air batteries. A noble-metal-free bifunctional electrocatalyst is fabricated under the statistical guidance from the data-driven analysis. Record-breaking electrocatalytic activity of ΔE = 0.57 V is achieved to endow zinc-air batteries cycling at 50 mA cm−2 and 25 mAh cm−2. Practical ampere-hour-scale zinc-air batteries are constructed with a capacity of 6.4 Ah and cycled under 1.0 A and 1.0 Ah conditions. Full-Text PDF