Study on the performance of I2-doped PBA derived carbon nanofiber self-supporting electrodes for zinc-air batteries

In the traditional method, the catalysts are easy to fall off when subjected to external force after loading. In this paper, the electrospinning technology was used to prepare a hybrid nanofiber based self-supporting catalytic electrode by polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), iron-based Prussian blue (FeFe-PBA) and iodine (I2). Benefited from the chemical complexation of I2 and PVP, during the heat treatment, the carbon yield of PVP and integrity of fibrous membrane greatly improved. The optimal comprehensive material ratio in spinning system was PBA 30 wt.%, PVP 14 wt.% and I2 5 wt.%, respectively. The tests after assembling zinc-air batteries showed that the open circuit voltage was 1.416 V, the peak power density was 13.71 mA·cm−2, the discharge voltage corresponding to the peak power density was 0.43 V, the corresponding current density was 31.71 mA·cm−2, and the internal resistance was about 20 Ω.