PtFeCoNiMoY high-entropy alloy nanoparticles as bifunctional oxygen catalysts for zinc air batteries

The search for highly efficient, low-priced and well-stabilized bifunctional oxygen catalysts is the current research focus of Zinc Air Batteries (ZABs). In this paper, PtFeCoNiMoY high-entropy alloy (HEA) nanoparticles are successfully coated on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using a simple one-step gas-phase synthesis. The catalyst exhibits outstanding performance with an OER (oxygen evolution reaction) overpotential of 238 mV (10 mA cm −2 ) and a bifunctional oxygen overpotential (ΔE) of only 0.713 V. In addition, the catalyst shows better performance when used as a cathode for ZABs, with a high specific capacity (797 mA h/g), peak power density (128.4 mA cm −2 ) and long-term cycling stability of more than 80 h. XPS results show that the addition of Mo and Y elements can result in a change in the electronic structure of the alloy. DFT (Density functional theory) calculations point out that the addition of Mo elements makes the alloy’s upper-spin state electrons more continuous near the Fermi energy level. The addition of Y elements shifts the overall d-band center of the alloy downward, which serves to regulate the surface adsorption energy. The work in this paper will promote the study of Pt-based bifunctional electrocatalysts and their practical application in ZABs.